Cory Doctorow on How the Internet Got Worse: Platform Decay and Digital Rights

The Decay of Digital Platforms

• 💡 Cory Doctorow's new book, "In Shit Ification," explores the phenomenon of digital platforms becoming worse for users over time while remaining profitable.
• 🎯 This decay follows a pattern: first, firms lock in users, then degrade the user experience, and finally extract maximum value from both users and business customers.
• 🔑 The core observation is that companies turn into "a pile of crap" by extracting all surplus and leaving only the bare minimum to retain users.

Historical Context of Digital Rights

• 🧠 Doctorow, an activist with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) for nearly 25 years, discusses early battles like the Bernstein case, where code was established as protected speech under the First Amendment, enabling secure communications.
• 🚀 He contrasts this with current trends where anti-circumvention laws, like the DMCA, make it illegal to modify software, even for lawful purposes, hindering user control and privacy.
• ⚠️ This legal framework is seen as a key reason why companies can enforce proprietary ecosystems, like app stores, and prevent users from modifying their devices.

European vs. US Regulatory Approaches

• 🇪🇺 Europe's approach has shifted from regulating how companies wield power to questioning the existence of that power itself, leading to regulations like interoperability requirements.
• 🇺🇸 In contrast, the U.S. has historically been influenced by dominant tech firms, making it harder to enact user-centric policies, though recent geopolitical shifts may be changing this.
• 📈 The EU's push for "Eurostock" aims to replicate US tech ecosystems, but faces challenges in migrating data and services from existing American platforms.

Platform Decay in Practice: Amazon, Uber, and More

• 🛒 Amazon's platform decay is evident in the shift from low-cost provider to a marketplace dominated by advertising fees and