Isn’t that a prerequisite for enshitification? Publicly-traded companies are required (by law, I think) to maximize profits for their shareholders, even if that means utterly ruining their original product (Reddit, Boeing, etc.), yes? What do you think?

  • Lvxferre
    36•26 days ago

    Enshittification requires two specific conditions:

    1. when a company can get more profit by decreasing the quality of the goods/services that it offers; and
    2. when the company is willing to do so.

    The company being publicly traded can cause #2, as the investors won’t be as emotionally attached to the goal of the company as the founders. However, it is not a prerequisite, with Reddit being an example (it started enshittifying way, way before the IPO).