An Audacious Plan to Halt the Internet's Enshittification
Cory Doctorow analyzes platform decay across Big Tech monopolies and outlines a policy and technical roadmap for interoperability, privacy, and user self-help.
Summary
The Mechanics of Platform Decay
Cory Doctorow dissects 'enshittification', the lifecycle where dominant platforms first lure users with subsidies, exploit those users to attract business customers, and ultimately claw back all surplus value for shareholders.
Monopolistic Consolidation and Legal Barriers
Decades of unchecked corporate mergers have consolidated the web into a handful of walled gardens, reinforced by anti-reverse-engineering laws and draconian digital rights management (DRM) statutes.
Antitrust, Interoperability, and Regulatory Reform
Halting platform degradation requires aggressive antitrust enforcement, robust privacy frameworks, and legal mandates for adversarial interoperability that prevent vendor lock-in.
Empowering User-Side Technical Self-Help
Doctorow champions grassroots technical resistance—including sideloading, alternative app stores, web scrapers, and ad-blocking—to restore user autonomy across digital ecosystems.
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