Enshittification and the Power of Platforms: Is There a Way Out?

Ever wonder why so many digital services you rely on seem to be getting simultaneously worse and more expensive? More ads. Sponsored search results. Subscription creep. Auto‑renew traps. Dubious 'surge' charges. Sneaky fees. Forced sign-ins. Cancel buttons hidden. There's a term for this phenomenon: enshittification — the gradual degradation of platforms that once seemed like technological miracles offering us convenience, connection, and democratisation.

But enshittification - the Macquarie Dictionary’s Word of the Year for 2024 - is just the surface symptom of something far more corrosive. Beneath the declining user experience lies a fundamental reshaping of our economy where a handful of tech platforms have positioned themselves as inescapable gatekeepers, extracting unprecedented wealth from workers, businesses, and consumers while accumulating dangerous concentrations of power — what some are now calling technofeudalism. What happened to the internet's promise of widespread prosperity and a stronger democracy? How did we end up locked into systems that seem designed to serve everyone except us? And most importantly: what can we do about it? Come join us for a vital conversation about reclaiming our digital future and building an economy that works for everyone, not just the platform owners.

Book: Enshittification – Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It (2025) by Cory Doctorow
Book (Alternative): The Age of Extraction – How Tech Platforms Conquered the Economy and Threaten Our Future Prosperity (2025) by Tim Wu
Pdf Resource: Infographics and Summary Tables
(A prepared document of selected ideas from the two books)

This month you have two options to read depending on your preference towards the level of analysis, style of writing, and your ease in accessing the book.

*Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse a