this post was submitted on 31 Jul 2025
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(Edited title, see details for original) Here's why you're getting enshittified... (pluralistic.net)
submitted 3 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by sundray@lemmus.org to c/technology@lemmy.world
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EDITED TO MAKE THE TITLE MORE APPROPRIATE. The previous title of this post was "I need to tell you something unsatisfying: your personal consumption choices will not make a meaningful difference to the amount of enshittification you experience in your life" which was the slug line as it appeared in my mailing-list-to-RSS reader. Although this is the first paragraph of the linked essay, it does not do a good job of explaining the thrust of the essay, and some people (not you though) seem to be arguing with the title instead of the essay.

(Thanks to ski11erboi@lemmy.world for the heads up.)

END OF EDITED SECTION

Here's why you're getting enshittified: we deliberately decided to stop enforcing competition laws. As a result, companies formed monopolies and cartels. This means that they don't have to worry about losing your business or labor to a competitor, because they don't compete. It also means that they can handily capture their regulators, because they can easily agree on a set of policy priorities and use the billions they've amassed by not competing to capture their regulators. They can hold a whip hand over their formerly powerful tech workers, mass-firing them and terrorizing them out of any Tron-inspired conceits about "fighting for the user." Finally, they can use IP law to shut down anyone who makes technology that disenshittifies their offerings.

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[โ€“] Rentlar@lemmy.ca 4 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Well, I guess the prerogative is on the rest of us non-Americans to break unjust American IP laws to counteract the lack of enforcement of anti-trust laws, or make laws in other countries that better enforce competition laws on American companies.

I have a glimmer of hope that Europe is getting in gear somewhat for that.

I do like Cory's overall point about needing to think more of solidarity than individual choices, but I disagree on discounting them completely, those choices do carry a certain degree of importance as well in effecting systemic change. Saying, "well, society isn't changing, enshittification isn't going anywhere so I shouldn't bother changing my habits" won't get us anywhere. It has had real effects.

Things that start in the margins have the ability to get noticed by big players and then bring about change. A couple examples: Linux gaming is in a viable state that was unimaginable 8 years ago. The Canadian boycott of US products and travel has had a very measurable affect on US tourism and select industries, and has spread to other countries. Valve nor the Canadian government started either of those efforts, but they helped signal-boost and take concrete supportive actions when they see that even a small group of people independently have supported that change already.

[โ€“] sundray@lemmus.org 2 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Valve nor the Canadian government started either of those efforts, but they helped signal-boost and take concrete supportive actions when they see that even a small group of people independently have supported that change already.

It's nice when that happens, when big-money players take notice of grass-roots movements and push forward their agendas. Pretty rare, though.