Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It

Cory Doctorow explains the systematic decline of digital platforms through a four-stage cycle where services first lure users, then exploit them to attract business customers, and finally harvest all value for shareholders. Using the framework of enshittification, he demonstrates how companies like Amazon and Facebook use high switching costs and platform decay to lock users into eroding ecosystems. The text details how the loss of interoperability and the dismantling of antitrust enforcement allow tech giants to degrade their own products without losing their market dominance.

This book targets internet users, software developers, and policy advocates seeking to understand the mechanics of digital monopolies. Readers learn how to identify the specific economic incentives that ruin online experiences and find practical strategies for dismantling platform lock-in. It provides a blueprint for restoring the early promise of the web through adversarial interoperability and strict regulatory shifts. People finish these chapters with a clear technical and legal vocabulary to describe their dissatisfaction with modern technology.