Why the Internet Is Turning to Shit
2 days ago
- #Big Tech
- #Enshittification
- #Corporate Greed
- Cory Doctorow's book 'Enshittification' explores how Big Tech platforms degrade over time, becoming worse for users and businesses alike.
- The process of enshittification involves four stages: initial user-friendly service, locking in users, exploiting business clients, and ultimately degrading the platform for everyone.
- Examples include Amazon's shift from customer-friendly to prioritizing sponsored results and knockoffs, and Facebook's decline into ad-heavy, AI-generated content.
- Key factors enabling enshittification include weakened antitrust enforcement, restrictive tech practices (e.g., parts pairing, DRM), and diminished labor power in the tech industry.
- Doctorow proposes solutions like stronger antitrust laws, tech worker unionization, and 'right to repair' laws, but critics argue these don't address the root profit-driven nature of corporations.
- The book lacks discussion on more radical solutions like public ownership or nationalization of tech platforms, focusing instead on regulatory and labor reforms.