Ask HN: Are email providers required to give email access if locked out?

[automoton1]

For example, if Google/Yahoo/Microsoft or whomever, locked you out of your account for 'suspicious behavior', breaking TOS, or some other reason are they required (legally) to provide you with copies of your existing emails? Regardless of if you've actually done anything? This hasn't happened to me but I've heard horror stories about it happening to others. What are some mitigations that my not so tech savy grandmother could take to prevent this from happening?

[elmerfud]

Nope. Actually they're not even legally required to abide by their own TOS. It's a completely one sided agreement, where they both dictate and interpret the terms. They only time you might have a legal challenge is if you pay for service as there is contract or an implied contract. Those usually force you in to binding arbitration.

Decades of consumer protections are being cast asside.

I'm not sure there's much you can do. Having consumer protection laws catch up with the modern times would be nice, but it's doubtful that they'll be anything more than token gestures to quiet people down.

[automoton1]

Do you think people would benefit from a service that allows them to own their emails regardless of who their provider is?