"Disenshittify or Die"

Cory Doctorow

https://pluralistic.net/2024/08/17/hack-the-planet/#how-about-a-nice-game-of-chess

What the fuck happened to the old, good internet?\
\
I mean, sure, our bosses were a little surveillance-happy, and they were usually up for sharing their data with the NSA, and whenever there was a tossup between user security and growth, it was always YOLO time.\
\
But Google Search used to work. Facebook used to show you posts from people you followed. Uber used to be cheaper than a taxi and pay the driver more than a cabbie made. Amazon used to sell products, not Shein-grade self-destructing dropshipped garbage from all-consonant brands. Apple used to defend your privacy, rather than spying on you with your no-modifications-allowed Iphone.\
\
There was a time when you searching for an album on Spotify would get you that album – not a playlist of insipid AI-generated covers with the same name and art.\
\
Microsoft used to sell you software – sure, it was buggy – but now they just let you access apps in the cloud, so they can watch how you use those apps and strip the features you use the most out of the basic tier and turn them into an upcharge.\
\
What – and I cannot stress this enough – the fuck happened?!\
\
I’m talking about enshittification.

#doctorow #cory #cory-doctorow #enshittification #disenshittify #internet #web #amazon #google #microsoft #facebook #apple