Not in the sense I am talking about.
A paying customer can go elsewhere.
A paying customer has leverage over their provider.
A paying customer has legal rights.
Discussion
Cool, you're right. I just skim the t&cs and it's always 'we'll let the law know if they ask' or I have to set my account to 'private' so my data isn't considered public and a free for all for anyone that asks.
Yes. As an example:
Kagi Search.
You pay. But they dont do ads and dont sell your data. Thats by default. Because you wouldnt pay if they did.
Leverage.
I'm just saying paying is not enough. Countless VPNs are paid and say 'no logs' but will hand over when asked info to the law. Mega, helps law enforcement unless the key is separate from the file. Best to go for companies that can't betray you e.g. Protonmail with zero-access encryption, and quad9 by Swiss law cannot keep logs.