New Books Network Cory Doctorow on Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It
Nov 17, 2025
Cory Doctorow, a renowned writer and digital-rights advocate, discusses his book on the alarming decline of digital platforms. Joining him is danah boyd, a tech and society scholar. They delve into the concept of 'inshittification,' exploring how monopolies and financialization degrade digital experiences. The conversation covers historical lessons from early internet battles and the potential of worker cooperatives as an alternative. They also tackle AI's hidden social and environmental costs, presenting a compelling case for reform in tech policy.
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Three-Stage Platform Decay
- Platforms decay in three predictable stages: win users, exploit users, then exploit businesses serving those users.
- Monopolies enable this because lock-in makes users and businesses captive to extractive changes.
Monopoly Over Moralizing Users
- Platform harm arises from monopoly power and policy choices, not just user weakness or evil founders.
- Fixing policy, not moralizing users, is the route to reversing platform decline.
Financialization Enables Platform Power
- Financialization and Chicago-school policies enabled monopoly-friendly incentives like shareholder supremacy and tax advantages.
- These structural rules made extraction profitable and politically durable.
