Doctrow argues that nascent tech unionization (which we’re closer to having now than ever before) combined with bipartisan fear (and consequent regulation) either directly or via agencies like the FTC and FCC can help to curb Big Tech’s power, and the enshittification that it has wrought.
That’s cool and all, and maybe it will eliminate some of the worst bullshit, but it’s not going to stop enshitification. Certainly not with big tech because it’s driven by the profit motive in satisfying initial investors, going public, and then engaging in the quest to make the line always go up forever.
The only thing that’s going to stop enshitification is to stop depending on that model for the platforms we want.
I think there ARE other ways to combat this, and the main one is ending activist investors that empower the Jack Welch pump and dump doctrine.
If someone wants to invest in something because they like it, they should be able to do that. What they should NOT be able to do is overwhelm a company they may or may not even like with dollars and then tell the company how to run its own business. If you don’t like what a company is doing, you SELL YOUR STOCK.
It’s this incessant worshiping of the shareholder that is step # 1 of enshittifcation.
Did I misunderstand your comment because “stop depending on that model for the platforms we want” reads like exactly what Mr Doctorow is proposing?
Somewhat, my comment got truncated by real life interruption, sorry. But I think we need things that are more community driven than they are profit driven. Things like the Fediverse where the goal isn’t doing all these things to make bank but doing all these things because it’s something people want and how people want to engage with each other.
Doctorow wants regulations to help stave off “loss leading” style behavior and then hopes unions will also somehow help. I’m thinking ultimately that any platform run as a capitalist enterprise is eventually going to enshitify.
I’m surprised that there hasn’t been more of a push for B Corp style corporate governance in tech considering how many tech leaders claim to be working for the greater good. There are plenty of options for doing well and doing good at the same time.