Technology

37702 readers

268 users here now

A nice place to discuss rumors, happenings, innovations, and challenges in the technology sphere. We also welcome discussions on the intersections of technology and society. If it’s technological news or discussion of technology, it probably belongs here.

Remember the overriding ethos on Beehaw: Be(e) Nice. Each user you encounter here is a person, and should be treated with kindness (even if they’re wrong, or use a Linux distro you don’t like). Personal attacks will not be tolerated.

Subcommunities on Beehaw:

This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

152

Does enshitification happen because companies are publicly-traded? (beehaw.org)

submitted 6 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

71 comments fedilink hide all child comments

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?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 26 points 6 months ago (3 children)

Publicly-traded companies are required (by law, I think) to maximize profits for their shareholders,

The is not true, stop spreading misinformation

https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/04/16/what-are-corporations-obligations-to-shareholders/corporations-dont-have-to-maximize-profits

[–] TassieTosser 6 points 6 months ago (2 children)

They may not have to maximise profits but the shareholders will question every decision that doesn't maximise profits so the result is the same. That's why activist investors that push companies to more ethical behaviour are important.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

Yeah, but we’ve had countless examples of loss-making tech companies with sky-high valuations. Amazon didn’t make a profit for something like 20 years. Investors of course want returns, but they can differ on the timeframe they’re willing to wait for them.

load more comments (1 replies)