Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

We already have that structure. It's called "court". And if you think it's not working well, I would agree with you. But neither will the other bureaucracy you are proposing, because neither really care about any of low income people who can't even pay for the phone service.

But let's put aside the efficacy of said institution, and presume it's working very well. They got call from some Joe. He claims that certain email address belongs to him, but can't prove it. Forgot password, no access to phone. What this customer service of yours going to do? Let's imagine they can order Google to give the guy access to account. Is that a right thing to do? What if that email belongs to a journalist or a whistleblower and you just gave access to it to a Russian intelligence? Remember, benefits are one thing, but it's not the only thing for which email is used.

And if it really comes down to this, why is Google under obligation to provide emails for government use? Government can provide email access to everyone who needs it. If they require email in order to access benefits, well go ahead and set up necessary infrastructure. Why Google had to do it? Google provides service on as-is basis. If that service level is unacceptable for government use, well newsflash: it's not the only provider.




It's not the only provider, except when it is.

If you have an Android phone, your e-mail is on Gmail. It doesn't need to be, but it is, because you didn't know that when you were funnelled into the e-mail when you set up the account and oops now that you're locked out ten years later it's too late to make a choice.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: