alt Hacker News> The real problem is that companies do not offer any accessible, powerful, and intelligent customer support.
No, the real problem is that we have no reasonable alternatives when companies misbehave. There is no meaningful way to exist in society today without an Apple or Google account, and that's actually insane. It's doubly insane for people who aren't citizens of the United States (although the CCP addressed this by requiring Apple make a separate iCloud for them).
The solution isn't to legislate a right to a bank account, it's to preserve the usefulness of cash so banks don't get too far out of line.
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Even if there were viable alternatives, I believe people who chose to use an Apple, Google, or any other account should still have the rights I proposed.
Cash being more useful wouldn't help you regain access to your photos, music, email, etc... when your account has been deactivated..
China is quite a bit worse. Not having an Apple or Google account in the US would be kind of inconvenient. Not having WeChat Pay or AliPay in China means you can't buy stuff most places. They've ensured that their de-facto-mandatory services are domestic, but they're a lot more mandatory.
I assume the Chinese government is quite happy with this, because they have no trouble bringing their large companies to heel, unlike the US. And centralizing payments like this gives them a great deal of information and control.
This is the naive tech bro view
You can't keep chasing alternatives when companies misbehave
That's why there's a thick list of contract law precedents and consumer's rights and what not
> There is no meaningful way to exist in society today without an Apple or Google account
As is the case for many other infrastructure companies, such as your local electricity network operator (or even supplier depending on market liberalization). We also didn't solve that problem by ensuring everyone's right to run a generator in their backyard or heat their city apartment with a coal oven.
If tech companies have become essential to our day to day lives and are not willing to allow for horizontal interoperability, i.e. to split over-the-top services from infrastructure and individual elements of infrastructure from each other – because walled garden lock-in undoubtedly increases profits – why not regulate them as infrastructure entirely?