Locked out in Washington?
If you live in Washington, the same statutes that protect every District of Columbia resident protect you. Here's exactly what to do — in the order to do it.
Step 1 — Know what's on your side
- FTC Act, s. 5 (unfair or deceptive acts)Substantial injury (loss of email, photos, 2FA), not reasonably avoidable by the consumer, with no countervailing benefit — the FTC's three-prong unfairness test.Read the statute →
- Sherman Act, s. 1 (tying)Forcing customers to buy product B (Workspace / One / Ads) to recover product A (Gmail) is the classic shape of an illegal tying arrangement when product A's market has dominance.
- DC Consumer Protection Procedures ActD.C. Code § 28-3904 — broad list of unlawful trade practices, with private right of action.
Step 2 — File where you live
These offices accept complaints from any resident of District of Columbia, including Washington. Filing is free.
- FTC — Report Fraud →Federal — file from anywhere in the US.
- District of Columbia Attorney General — Consumer Complaints →Search opens the official AG complaint page for your state.
Step 3 — Generate your letter
Our letter tool drafts a per-platform complaint you can paste into the regulator forms above, or attach as a PDF.
This page is generic by design — it does not name a specific case in Washington. It exists so that searching "locked out of Google in Washington" turns up an actionable page in your language and your jurisdiction instead of another forum thread that ends in "try recovery again." Nothing on this site is legal advice; for advice about your situation, talk to a licensed lawyer in District of Columbia.