It's not your job to fix the internet
The Vergecast
Nov 18
It's not your job to fix the internet
It's not your job to fix the internet
The Vergecast
Nov 18
The internet, once hailed as a democratizing force, has increasingly become a playground for monopolistic platforms that prioritize profit over people. In this conversation, author and digital rights activist Cory Doctorow unpacks the mechanics of what he calls 'enshittification'—a process where online services slowly degrade from useful tools into exploitative systems.
Enshittification describes how platforms evolve from user-friendly services to mechanisms that exploit both users and businesses for shareholder gain. This isn't a result of individual moral failure but systemic issues rooted in weak antitrust enforcement and concentrated corporate power. Personal workarounds like switching apps or deleting accounts offer little real change; the solution lies in political action and structural reform. Ideas like data portability, local-first software, and adversarial interoperability could empower users and restore competition. Examples such as gig worker tool Paragon show how transparency can disrupt unfair platform practices. Breaking up tech monopolies isn’t just ethical—it’s economically strategic. Global efforts like Eurostack reflect growing distrust in U.S. tech dominance, while new AI-driven tools may help decentralize commerce by routing traffic to independent sites. Ultimately, preventing enshittification requires foresight: building platforms with unionization, open standards, and user-controlled APIs from the start.
09:58
09:58
Systemic problems require systemic solutions, not individual consumer choices.
12:27
12:27
Platform enshittification is caused by policy decisions, not just greedy tech leaders
29:51
29:51
Users should be able to transfer data between platforms as freely as phone numbers.
43:32
43:32
Facebook refused to fix a security flaw that allowed non-members to enumerate private group members, citing ad-tech integration.
48:30
48:30
Making it illegal for gig workers to know the unit cost of their labor undermines fair work practices
53:55
53:55
Is enshittification inevitable? Advice for founders on building non-toxic platforms.
56:37
56:37
Unionizing workers and open-sourcing code can prevent platform decay.
