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Are there any laws against enshittification / unsustainable business practices? Sounds like an overreaction on my part, given the news is about something as sm

by thih9 3y ago

Are there any laws against enshittification / unsustainable business practices? Sounds like an overreaction on my part, given the news is about something as small as ads. At the same time it’s an intentional worsening of the UX to increase profits. It’s possible because the provider has control over user data/community. And it’s likely not the last time this is happening. Perhaps we need more laws like in EU, so that the users could seamlessly switch between apps and communicate across platforms.

ineedaj0b 3y ago
You’ve really gotta separate is/ought in your world view. Is it good to make laws according to taste; ought we do so to help create the world we like? The problem with the ‘world we like’ is it might not make sense economically - and will fail. It generally better to allow even playing grounds. Our desires for what what ought to happen are often short sighted.
- thih9 3y ago
  > The problem with the ‘world we like’ is it might not make sense economically - and will fail. I'm fine with discord failing if the alternative is discord enshittifying itself while keeping user data hostage. Same applies to other platforms or products. I guess what you're saying is that not just discord would fail but the whole network of advertisers and products that rely on them. I hope this wouldn't be as dramatic, I hope we'd find better ways to reach consumer audiences than creepy ads.
jeroenhd 3y ago
The EU has data portability obligations and anti gatekeeper laws. I think from a legal point of view, the EU is fine. More enforcement would be welcome, though. That said: you can't expect a free service to handle your streaming and file uploads without some kind of revenue stream. In my opinion, services giving away free stuff with their billions of investment should be fined, because no real company with a normal profit margin can ever compete. This approach has destroyed every market it's been successful in, from ride sharing to food delivery, yet nobody seems to care when it comes to internet hosting services, probably because the majority of users benefit from the free stuff until there is no serious competition left. Any law against adding ads to generate revenue once a critical user base has been attained would likely turn into every website requiring a subscription, or every free tier coming with ads from the get-go. I'm not sure if the people who are mad about this will accept either.

by thih9 3y ago

ineedaj0b 3y ago

You’ve really gotta separate is/ought in your world view. Is it good to make laws according to taste; ought we do so to help create the world we like? The problem with the ‘world we like’ is it might not make sense economically - and will fail. It generally better to allow even playing grounds. Our desires for what what ought to happen are often short sighted.

thih9 3y ago
> The problem with the ‘world we like’ is it might not make sense economically - and will fail. I'm fine with discord failing if the alternative is discord enshittifying itself while keeping user data hostage. Same applies to other platforms or products. I guess what you're saying is that not just discord would fail but the whole network of advertisers and products that rely on them. I hope this wouldn't be as dramatic, I hope we'd find better ways to reach consumer audiences than creepy ads.

jeroenhd 3y ago

The EU has data portability obligations and anti gatekeeper laws. I think from a legal point of view, the EU is fine. More enforcement would be welcome, though. That said: you can't expect a free service to handle your streaming and file uploads without some kind of revenue stream. In my opinion, services giving away free stuff with their billions of investment should be fined, because no real company with a normal profit margin can ever compete. This approach has destroyed every market it's been successful in, from ride sharing to food delivery, yet nobody seems to care when it comes to internet hosting services, probably because the majority of users benefit from the free stuff until there is no serious competition left. Any law against adding ads to generate revenue once a critical user base has been attained would likely turn into every website requiring a subscription, or every free tier coming with ads from the get-go. I'm not sure if the people who are mad about this will accept either.