Earlier quoted context omitted.
You can already do any of those things in your own code when making the API requests. The issue here is, if you unintentionally try to make a billion expensive requests or allow someone else to do it against your account, do you want them to automatically turn off your stuff or do you want the bill that comes if they don't?
You seem to not comprehend the concept of informed choice . Upstream in the comments someone said they expect the EU might soon rule this type of billing illegal. That doesn't mean it becomes illegal, it just means yet another reaffirmation or reminder that - yes - this is indeed illegal. You said that no fixed response -whether that is allow unexpected billing to increase without limit upon a surge vs serving error…
No, it's because people dislike both of those things and don't want either one of them, and frequently fail to realize ahead of time that choosing between them is even necessary and then get upset by whichever one actually happens.
> Why would you force a single shoe size onto a population?
Here's my original post:
> The main thing Google is screwing up here is not giving you the choice between them.
> And it doesn't have to be just those 2 options
We're talking about an API used by programmers. You don't need them to give you any of that, all you need is for the API to tell you what your current usage is -- and even that is only necessary if something other than your own code is racking up usage. When you're the one making queries and the price of each one is known ahead of time or available via the API, you can already implement any of that logic yourself.