Yes it is.
Have you tried e.g. for a week to never use ANY service that is from Google?
Normally people thing it is just search, but search is just the tip of the iceberg.
In case of EU, you just need to wait max 5 years for next elections and you can have your input by voting (in case of Google you can send your input to /dev/null of their automated "customer service").
Would you be able to avoid (just for one week):
- google analytics,
- GCP (this one is hard),
- youtube,
- google dns servers,
- android without any google services (or just iOS, this one might be easier if you already have iPhone, but for majority of people it is not easy),
- adwords/adsense
- fonts
- translate
- pay (again, easier of you are iPhone user)
- photos
- maps
- charts (you can have link to those on web pages)
- chrome
- gmail (if you don't have account there then it is easy, if you have - it is almost impossible to change your email address everywhere)
And also imagine a person that is an "average Joe", has cheap Android phone, uses Chrome without any ad blocking and has email account in gmail.
Would it be easy for him? Or would it be easier to go voting?
Or find a job in neighboring country that doesn't belong to EU (e.g. Switzerland or Norway, not sure if UK counts right now) ?
Well if you are going to say he has to use a cheap Android phone and a gmail account, then obviously he can’t avoid Google, but that’s not much of an argument.
Nobody is really restricted in that way.
It’s obviously much easier to buy an iPhone and install an ad-blocker than it is to get a new job in Switzerland or Norway if you don’t already live there.
Have you actually looked at at what it takes to emigrate to Switzerland?
As for your list, of course you can’t stop other people from using Google. We’re talking about not using Google yourself.
The move to different country is one time deal.
Avoiding Google for the rest of your life is a constant job.
I didn't say that the "Joe" has to use cheap Android phone and gmail account. I just said that he has one already because one is cheap and the other is free.
So imagine that he used both for several years.
And now he can change that, but is it easy?
Buying iPhone is easy (not cheap, but moving out is also not cheap), but changing your email address in zillion places is next to impossible.
Normally people thing it is just search, but search is just the tip of the iceberg.
In case of EU, you just need to wait max 5 years for next elections and you can have your input by voting (in case of Google you can send your input to /dev/null of their automated "customer service").
Would you be able to avoid (just for one week):
- google analytics,
- GCP (this one is hard),
- youtube,
- google dns servers,
- android without any google services (or just iOS, this one might be easier if you already have iPhone, but for majority of people it is not easy),
- adwords/adsense
- fonts
- translate
- pay (again, easier of you are iPhone user)
- photos
- maps
- charts (you can have link to those on web pages)
- chrome
- gmail (if you don't have account there then it is easy, if you have - it is almost impossible to change your email address everywhere)
And also imagine a person that is an "average Joe", has cheap Android phone, uses Chrome without any ad blocking and has email account in gmail.
Would it be easy for him? Or would it be easier to go voting? Or find a job in neighboring country that doesn't belong to EU (e.g. Switzerland or Norway, not sure if UK counts right now) ?