I don't agree. The whole idea Doctorow was pointing at is that startups could use massive amounts of VC funding to attract a large base of users, often by dump

I don't agree. The whole idea Doctorow was pointing at is that startups could use massive amounts of VC funding to attract a large base of users, often by dumping their services on the market in order to kill competitors (what was once rebranded "blitzscaling" so we wouldn't notice it was at its core an illegal business practice). Then, once that user base was attached (and ideally stuck due to barriers like network effects or the lack of any viable competitors in the space), you start milking them by "enshittifying" the service. But if VC money becomes more scarce, that stops working. Companies will have to generate revenue much earlier, and compete on quality of service instead of who can raise the largest VC war chest to subsidize their operations. And they won't be able to wait until that user base is built and attached before they start monetizing. They'll have to create a revenue generating service that's also good to the user because otherwise the users just won't show up. For the existing services? Yup, you're right, the masks will start to come off (and in many cases already have). But long-term I would expect a much healthier internet to emerge.