Gmail offers an option to give access to your account to another gmail account holder; they can read/send etc. but not change your settings or password. It’s called “mail delegation” and is enabled under Settings>Accounts; there is an explanatory article here: http://support.google.com/mail/bin/answer.py?hl=en&ctx=mail&answer=138350

Of course this only addresses one aspect of the situation in your most interesting article. Thanks for raising the issue.