The Norwegian Consumer Council released a satirical video campaign featuring a Grim Reaper figure and a Nordic character named the “Enshittificator” to highlight how digital products and services intentionally deteriorate over time to maximize corporate profits. Launched through YouTube videos in February and September, the government-funded nonprofit’s “Breaking Free” initiative uses dark humor to address corporate practices like subscription-locked hardware, planned obsolescence, and reduced software utility.
The Origins and Mechanics of Enshittification
The term “enshittification” was popularized in 2022 by author and activist Cory Doctorow, earning a place in Merriam-Webster’s slang hub in 2023. According to the campaign’s framing and Doctorow’s analysis, companies lure users into ecosystem dependence with high-quality offerings before degrading features, hiding basic functions behind paywalls, and squeezing consumers for revenue. In an email to CNET, Doctorow stated that the combination of market power and his vocabulary has helped people direct their anger appropriately.
Targeting Real-World Tech Industry Practices
The Norwegian Consumer Council’s videos use dark humor to detail how enshittification affects everyday life:
- Automotive Subscriptions: The initial February video features the Enshittificator crashing a car because he failed to pay a recurring subscription fee for his braking system, mocking automakers that sell baseline vehicle functionality as add-on services.
- Planned Obsolescence: The characters examine indestructible devices like the Nokia 3310, noting that long-lasting products generate revenue only once, forcing companies to utilize low-quality materials and halt software updates to drive replacement sales. Major tech firms have spent heavily lobbying against right-to-repair laws to prevent consumer fixes.
- Cloud Storage Caps: A hospital scene in the September video shows the Enshittificator demanding payment for stored photographs of a deceased mother, mirroring Google Photos’ 2021 policy shift that ended free unlimited storage and capped accounts at 15GB.
- Smartphone Performance: The campaign reflects historical precedents such as Apple’s 2020 agreement to pay up to $500 million to settle the “batterygate” class action lawsuit over allegations that software updates secretly slowed down older iPhone models.
Regulatory and Consumer Protection Goals
Worth a look