Cory Doctorow: 'enshittification' or why platforms became useless

When was the last time you looked at photos of your closest friends on Facebook? And how many links in Google's search results showed what you were actually looking for? Cory Doctorow, an author, tech activist and journalist, contends that many online platforms are degenerating into a 'useless pile of shit'. In 2022, he introduced the term 'enshittification' to describe how initially useful platforms and services become unusable in three stages.

The 'enshittification' cycle

• Phase 1: At the outset, the new software, platform or service focuses on providing added value for users. Google searches initially produced very good results and indexed the countless websites in a useful list of links. Likewise, Facebook initially provided a platform for connecting with friends and keeping in touch – even over long distances. During this first phase, the platforms perform efficiently and meet our requirements exactly. The number of users consequently rises sharply and they develop an affinity with the service - until barely any alternative exists. We've all spent time carefully building up our network on Facebook or even sorting our holiday snaps into easily accessible albums. This paves the way for the next stage.
• Phase 2: Users are exploited for the benefit of corporate clients. To monetise the platform, operators sell user data or display advertisers' content more prominently in return for payment. As a result, Facebook feeds have now been flooded with paid ads and paid websites appear first in Google results before perhaps more relevant organic content. 
• Phase 3: If the corporate clients are also successfully bound to the platform because it's where they reach their target group or can be found by them in the first place, 'enshittification' has entered the final phase. Doctorow believes corporate clients are now being exploited too with operators and their shareholders trying to retain as much profit as possible for themselves. Advertising placement costs increase sharply, while the service for users often deteriorates significantly.  

Competitors ousted and lack of regulation​

Doctorow cannot see an easy way out of 'enshittification' on an individual basis. A good example is WhatsApp: switching to a better encrypted messaging service only works if your circle of friends switches to the same provider too – otherwise a common communication channel is lost. Anyone who has ever tried to organise a restaurant booking or an evening at the cinema will know just how exhausting it can be to reach consensus in a group. The platforms are deliberately crowding out their competitors or making a switch as unattractive as they possibly can, which Doctorow illustrates insightfully using the example of Amazon. The former online bookseller has completely squeezed many smaller providers out of the market due to its relatively strong market position and unequal conditions for the display of products from third-party providers compared to its own offerings. Audiobooks or e-books, for example, are protected so that they only work within Amazon apps. This means switching to another provider also results in loss of content that has already been paid for.

Doctorow believes 'enshittification' is essentially a systemic problem. The operators have been allowed to wield too much power for too long. A healthy competitive environment and clear regulations may make it harder for platforms to exploit their own users and business customers.

'Reclaiming Focus' at the European Trend Day

The phenomenon Cory Doctorow points to is something we all experience: an internet that devours our attention and makes it difficult to focus. The European Trend Day 2026 at the GDI - the leading conference on the future of business and society – explores how we can regain focus and make an impact in this new reality.