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Governments pressured to stop ‘enshitification' as internet worsens

EuroNews · · 1056 words · By Anna Desmarais
open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.euronews.com/next/2026/03/28/we-can-have-a-better-digital-world-glob…

fact_checkFact-Check Results

15 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

help Insufficient Evidence 6
schedule Pending 5
verified Verified By Reference 3
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“A platform becomes ‘enshitified’ when it introduces paid features or subscriptions that makes a user’s experience worse than it used to be.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources confirm the concept of enshittification as a process where platforms degrade quality by prioritizing monetization over user experience. Wikipedia defines it as platform decay, while other web sources describe similar shifts toward ads, paywalls, and engagement-driven features.
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web search NEUTRAL — Enshittification, also known asplatformdecay, is a process in which two-sided online products and services decline in quality over time. Initially, vendors create high-quality offerings to attractuser…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enshittification
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web search NEUTRAL — Onceaplatformhits auserceiling, it shifts focus from improving theexperienceto extracting more value: Ads and sponsored content take priority over organic content.Featuresare paywalled or removed unle…
https://www.tech2geek.net/why-tech-platforms-are-getting-wor…
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web search NEUTRAL — This shift became evident as theuserinterfaces of bothplatformsincreasingly prioritizedfeaturesthat maximizeduserengagement—and by extension, exposure to advertisements—overuser...
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/grim-reality-enshitification-…
verified
“A viral video by the Norwegian Consumer Council (NCC) is drawing attention to a growing concern about the decline in quality across popular digital platforms.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
While the Norwegian Consumer Council (NCC) is mentioned in Wikipedia entries and web search results, no specific evidence confirms a viral video about enshittification. The cited sources discuss NCC's general work on digital platforms but lack direct confirmation of a viral video.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Consumer council may refer to: Consumer Council (Hong Kong) Consumers Council of Canada Consumer Council of Fiji Norwegian Consumer Council
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_council
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Enshittification, also known as platform decay, is a process in which two-sided online products and services decline in quality over time. Initially, vendors create high-quality offerings to attract u…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enshittification
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Consumer Council of Norway (Norwegian: Forbrukerrådet) is a Norwegian government agency and consumer protection organisation established in 1953. It works to increase consumer influence in society…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_Consumer_Council
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
“Over 70 advocacy groups from the United States, the European Union, and Norway sent letters to politicians in over 14 countries, asking for stronger enforcement against 'enshitification'.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The evidence includes unrelated web search results and Wikipedia entries about Norway's economy and EU politics, but no specific information about 70+ advocacy groups sending letters to politicians regarding enshittification.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The economy of Norway is a highly developed mixed economy with state-ownership in strategic areas. Although sensitive to global business cycles, the economy of Norway has shown robust growth since the…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Norway
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 member states that are located primarily in Europe. The supranational union has a total area of 4,233,255 km2 (1,634,469 sq mi) and an e…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country comprising the western and northernmost parts of the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe, the remote Arctic island Jan Mayen and the…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
“The NCC report points to Facebook as one example, arguing that the platform has changed its original purpose of connecting friends and family in favour of prioritising promoted content and advertising in a 'deliberate effort to increase profits'.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The Wikipedia entries for Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! and Elizabeth Dennehy are unrelated to Facebook or enshittification. No evidence directly supports the claim about Facebook's alleged shift to prioritize profits.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! (initialized as C!NCC!) is a French easycore band formed in 2007 in Paris. The band consists of vocalist Bertrand Poncet, guitarists Éric Poncet and Paul Wilson and bassist M…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chunk!_No,_Captain_Chunk!
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Elizabeth Hannah Dennehy is an American television and film actress, who has appeared in such television series as Guiding Light, Seinfeld, Charmed, Without a Trace and Star Trek: The Next Generation,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Dennehy
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Hippodrome, formerly known as the McElroy Auditorium, is a 5,155 permanent seat multipurpose arena located in Waterloo, Iowa. The auditorium was built in 1919 and renovated in 1936, when the roof…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hippodrome
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“‘Enshitification’ is easier to do with digital products because they can be easily modified in ways that physical products cannot, Myrstad said.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in web search or Wikipedia to support the claim about digital products being more susceptible to enshittification.
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“The Digital Markets Act (DMA) includes interoperability requirements that force major 'gatekeepers' such as Apple and Google to open up key operating system features to competitors.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in web search or Wikipedia to confirm the Digital Markets Act's interoperability requirements for Apple and Google.
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“Companies that fail to comply with the Digital Services Act (DSA) can face fines of up to 6 percent of their global turnover.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in web search or Wikipedia to verify the 6% fine for non-compliance with the Digital Services Act.
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“The Norwegian Consumer Council's viral video on enshitification has amassed millions of views.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in web search or Wikipedia to confirm the viral video's view count.
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“Journalist Cory Doctorow was the first to coin the term ‘enshitification’ in 2023.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in web search or Wikipedia to verify Cory Doctorow coined 'enshitification' in 2023.
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“The NCC report argues Facebook's feed now includes forced advertisement breaks, vast amounts of AI-generated content, and various other content.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in web search or Wikipedia to support the NCC report's claims about Facebook's feed content.
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“The Euronews Next reached out to the Commission to see whether any action to counter enshitification is happening, but did not receive a reply.”
PENDING
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“The NCC report found that a key driver of enshitification is the network effect, where a platform’s value increases as more people use it.”
PENDING
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“The NCC report notes that users have limited ability to 'vote with their feet' and switch to better services.”
PENDING
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“The NCC report mentions that companies introduce switching costs, which are the time, effort or money required to move to a competitor.”
PENDING
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“The Digital Fairness Act (DFA) is expected to provide legal protections against 'deceptive design, addictive mechanisms, and a few other challenges that are part of enshitification'.”
PENDING
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.