Google accounts aren't just yet-another-email-address anymore. While I like to think of my gmail account as a throwaway (I still only use it for testing email delivery from my proper email accounts), my entire Android "profile" is linked through it.
If I fat-finger some signup form somewhere, or my stupid cousin decides to play a prank on me with my signed-in Google account, or something else bad happens unrelated to this "underage"/COPPA policy, I have no recourse to recover from a lockout?
That's stupid, and impacts something very important to me. While Google may or may not get any money from my use of Android, they are (by their own hand) accountable for my experience there, which includes not ever being irrevocably locked out of the "cloud" resources that the phone depends upon.
So how much are you paying for your gmail account?
Probably $0. Guess how much time should Google wants to spend providing you with tech support? Probably 0 (unless you manage to create negative PR then not supporting you might cost them some bad karma so then it is cheaper to just have someone call you and fix your issue).
Expecting to get something for nothing is unrealistic. To Google you are just one of hundreds of millions of users whose surfing habits and email account usage they indirectly sell to their real paying customers. If you wants technical service you have to pay for it.
You are paying them, indirectly. You are giving them information about yourself and your interests, which is valuable to them.
Google would provide good customer support if they cared about maintaining goodwill with the public. And, looking at some other replies here, it seems they do try (to some extent). They're not stupid.
But articles and threads like these are a PR disaster, and they will hurt their bottom line in the long run. They do not want people switching to another search engine or telling their friends to boycott Google or Google's advertisers.
Right, I pay $0 for gmail itself, but I pay a lot of money for my Android phone and the service that goes along with it. If they don't get a slice of that, that's their fault, not mine.
In any case, if that phone gets bricked, or requires being reset and associated with a "blank" google profile because of an erroneous and irreversible lockout on my current profile/account, the blame will squarely rest with Google. They're the 2nd most visible counterparty to my smartphone usage, and numero uno when it comes to data services.
Way to show a total lack of empathy and cold blooded capitalism. There are implied controls and services when offering a product, and Google's downright hostile attitude towards users when they experience problems Google create or helped to create is indefensible.
Well they could just charge for premium accounts, I for one would pay 20 bucks a month for a Google sub with support. Google Apps isn't exactly affordable to the average person and I bet the support options are pretty horrible.
If I fat-finger some signup form somewhere, or my stupid cousin decides to play a prank on me with my signed-in Google account, or something else bad happens unrelated to this "underage"/COPPA policy, I have no recourse to recover from a lockout?
That's stupid, and impacts something very important to me. While Google may or may not get any money from my use of Android, they are (by their own hand) accountable for my experience there, which includes not ever being irrevocably locked out of the "cloud" resources that the phone depends upon.