Comment by dunnevens

I've had a similar idea. It's not terrible, but gives Google a partial incentive to abuse it. I say "partial" because the perverse incentive would be offset by the PR hit. Paying for support for a problem Google created, and having the call centers become profit centers, would impose a reputational dent.

Google could charge small amounts for new account creation. $5 per new account could probably cover an increase in human-contactable support. But that also probably doesn't work because Google doesn't want any friction for users creating new accounts.

Probably the only solution is regulation. If a company is going to offer a vital service like email, even for free, then they should be required to provide procedures for restoring the account. Procedures that involve direct contact with a human at some point if the matter isn't resolved early on. I can't see the US passing such regulation any time soon, but perhaps the EU would step up.