Masters in Business• Jan 22, 2026• 42:02Interview

BONUS: How the Internet Got Worse with Cory Doctorow | Masters in Business

From Masters in Business

Cory Doctorow•Technology Author

Executive Summary

Cory Doctorow introduces the concept of 'enshittification,' a three-stage process where digital platforms first attract users with good services, then lure business customers, and finally extract all value for themselves, degrading the platform for everyone.
The decay of platforms is enabled by the erosion of competitive, regulatory, and interoperable discipline.
Laws like the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) are used to prevent reverse-engineering and create high switching costs, locking users and businesses into declining ecosystems.
Europe is taking a more aggressive regulatory stance than the U.S., focusing on interoperability mandates to dismantle the power of tech giants, whereas the U.S.
has not passed a major federal privacy law since 1988.
In the face of threats from generative AI, Doctorow argues that collective action and unionization, as demonstrated by the Writers Guild, are more effective for creative workers than relying on new copyright laws, which would likely be co-opted by large corporations.

12 quotes

Concerns Raised

The systemic decay of essential digital platforms due to profit-seeking behavior.
Use of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to stifle competition, repair, and user rights.
Consolidation of monopoly power in the tech industry, leading to higher prices and lower quality.
The potential for AI to devalue creative labor without strong collective bargaining rights for workers.
Regulatory inaction in the United States compared to more proactive measures in Europe.

Opportunities Identified

Implementing interoperability mandates to reduce switching costs and restore competition.
Reforming intellectual property laws to protect competition and consumer rights.
Strengthening labor unions and sectoral bargaining rights for creative and gig economy workers.
Increased antitrust enforcement against monopolistic practices by tech giants.

Key Themes

Platform Decay ('Enshittification')

Platforms follow a predictable lifecycle of decay where they initially provide value to users to build a network, then pivot to extracting value from business customers, and finally squeeze both sides to maximize shareholder profit. This process inevitably leads to a degraded user experience, as seen with platforms like Amazon, Facebook, and Google.

This framework explains the common user experience of once-beloved online services becoming progressively worse, attributing it to a systemic, profit-driven decay enabled by a lack of competition.

The Erosion of Interoperability

A key factor enabling platform decay is the loss of interoperability—the ability for different services and products to work together. Historically, companies like Apple and Facebook grew by reverse-engineering competitors' products (Microsoft Office, MySpace), but now use intellectual property law to prevent others from doing the same to them.

The lack of interoperability creates high switching costs and locks users into specific ecosystems, cementing the power of dominant firms and stifling innovation and competition.

Weaponization of Intellectual Property Law

Laws originally intended to protect creators, particularly Section 1201 of the DMCA, are now primarily used by large corporations as anti-competitive tools. These laws make it a felony to bypass technical protection measures, even for lawful purposes like repair, security research, or creating compatible products, thereby reinforcing monopolies.

This reframes the debate on digital rights, showing how IP law has become a barrier to consumer rights, competition, and innovation, rather than a tool for protecting creators.

Regulatory Arbitrage and Asymmetry

There is a growing divergence in tech regulation between Europe and the United States. Europe is actively pursuing policies to mandate interoperability and dismantle tech monopolies, while the U.S. regulatory framework has remained largely stagnant for decades, allowing dominant firms to consolidate power with little oversight.

This global regulatory asymmetry creates different operating environments and highlights the political challenges in the U.S. to rein in the power of its domestic tech giants.

Collective Action as a Counter to Corporate Power

Doctorow argues that for creative workers threatened by generative AI and platform monopolies, the most effective defense is not new copyright law but collective bargaining. He points to the Writers Guild strike as a successful example of using union power to secure protections that individual negotiation or IP rights could not achieve.

This proposes a shift in strategy for creators and workers in the digital economy, emphasizing labor organization over legal frameworks that are often captured by corporate interests.

Get started free

Topics

Enshittification Platform Decay Digital Rights Interoperability Antitrust Tech Regulation DMCA Intellectual Property User Lock-in Switching Costs Generative AI Labor Unions Ad Blockers Privacy Reverse Engineering

Processed Apr 6, 2026 yt-dlp + mlx-whisper + Gemini