Norway's Consumer Council Calls for Right to Repair and Antitrust Enforcement - and Mocks 'Enshittification'

Source: Slashdot

The Norwegian Consumer Council, a government‑funded organization advocating for consumer rights, released a report on the trend of “enshittification” in digital consumer goods and services, suggesting ways consumers can resist. The report is accompanied by a humorous four‑minute video that dramatizes the problem.

“It’s not just your imagination. Digital services are getting worse,” the video concludes — before adding that “Luckily, it doesn’t have to be this way.”

Key Recommendations

• Stronger rights for consumers to control, adapt, repair, and alter their products and services.
• Interoperability, data portability, and decentralisation as the norm, lowering the threshold for switching services.
• Deterrent and vigorous enforcement of competition law to prevent Big Tech from indiscriminately acquiring start‑ups, competitors, or otherwise steering the market to their advantage.
• Better financing of initiatives that build, maintain, or improve alternative digital services and infrastructure based on open‑source code and open protocols.
• Reduce public‑sector dependence on Big Tech to regain control and foster a functioning market for service providers that respect fundamental rights.
• Deterrent and consistent enforcement of other laws, including consumer and data‑protection law.

Advocacy Letters

• The Norwegian Consumer Council is joining 58 organisations and experts in a letter to the Norwegian government, urging a rebalance of power through enforcement resources and prioritising procurement of services based on open‑source code. Their sister organisations are sending similar letters to governments in 12 other countries.
• A second letter is being sent to the European Commission, signed by 29 civil‑society organisations (including the EFF and Amnesty International), warning about the risks of deregulation and calling for reduced dependency on Big Tech.

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Thanks to Slashdot reader DeanonymizedCoward for sharing the news.

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