Amazon's Predatory Tactics Explained

Remember when Facebook was fun and Google actually worked? Cory Doctorow coined a term for what went wrong, and he's here to explain how we fight back.

Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1280

What We Discuss with Cory Doctorow:

• "Enshittification" is Cory Doctorow's term for how platforms decay. First they're good to users, then they abuse users to serve business customers, then they abuse everyone to claw back value for themselves. Facebook, Amazon, and Google all followed this playbook — and policy makers let it happen.
• "Switching costs" are a deliberate policy choice, not an inevitability. Companies jack up the friction of leaving their platforms through design and lobbying, but regulations like phone number portability prove we can legislate friction down when we choose to.
• The Digital Millennium Copyright Act criminalizes fixing things you own. Security researchers who expose corporate sabotage — like the Polish train company bricking locomotives to extort customers — face harsher legal consequences than actual pirates.
• "Algorithmic wage discrimination" is surveillance capitalism's newest trick. Apps like Uber track how desperate workers are and pay them less accordingly — the more rides you accept, the lower your future offers, turning desperation into a permanent wage ceiling.
• You can fight back by supporting interoperability and making strategic choices. Use alternative services (like Kagi for search), follow advocates like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (eff.org), and remember: every time you demand the right to own what you buy, you're pushing back against enshittification.
• And much more...

And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps!

• Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!
• Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!
• Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!

This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors:

• Article: Visit article.com/jordan for $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more
• BetterHelp: 10% off first month: betterhelp.com/jordan
• Bombas: Go to bombas.com/jordan to get 20% off your first order
• ButcherBox: Free protein for a year + $20 off first box: butcherbox.com/jordan
• Homes.com: Find your home: homes.com

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.