Interview with Cory Doctorow

Author and digital rights activist Cory Doctorow discusses his DEF CON 32 presentation, "Disenshittify or Die," exploring the structural drivers behind platform decay and outlining regulatory and grassroots paths to build an enshittification-resistant internet [00:14]. Drawing on more than two decades as an advisor and former European Director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) [00:42], Doctorow highlights the Electronic Frontier Alliance (EFA)—a national network of grassroots community organizations that coordinate model legislation to curb warrantless surveillance and municipal use of facial recognition technologies [01:07].

Doctorow examines the four-decade suspension of antitrust enforcement following the Reagan administration, illustrating how unchecked monopolization has distorted industries ranging from eyewear and maritime container shipping to professional wrestling and big tech [02:25]. He details how market consolidation cripples traditional consumer advocacy—noting that modern web traffic is effectively controlled by five dominant platforms—and argues that recent assertive regulatory enforcement led by FTC Chair Lina Khan represents a crucial inflection point in revitalizing competition law and protecting digital rights [03:40].

(AI summary — Gemini Flash)