Is It Time to Regulate React?

Thursday 23 Oct 2025

Regulate?! Sounds like rage bait. I’ll try not to disappoint.

It’s right to balk at the idea of government intervention in your sacred tech stack. Legislation from tech-ignorant bloviates? The last resort for an industry that fails to self-regulate. But I dare say React is tempting that fate! The enshittifcation of the web is built with React.

What am I talking about? Slow, fragile, inaccessible websites. Too much JavaScript clogging the tubes and burning CPU cycles. Lagtastic and error-prone user interfaces.

Why am I blaming React? React is a legacy framework turned cargo cult that promotes inaccessible development. There is nothing more guilty!

“React can be performant and accessible!”

- Typical React Apologist

Of course, no true React developer would code it wrong. So why have we witnessed over a decade of React failing the web time and time again?

Failure

I’m not here to recite all the evidence. React’s failures are bemoaned ad nauseam.

React’s core failure is compounded by confusing API design for which documentation is indecisive, essays are written, and correct usage is endlessly debated. Is it any wonder that absurd mistakes continue to happen?

React exists as a profound perversion of the web platform. React has failed upwards to widespread adoption because it provides a “developer experience” that bypasses the hard parts. Like learning HTML, or CSS, or JavaScript. Even learning React itself is discouraged; that’s for adults, you should use meta-frameworks. React devs are burdened with multi-megabyte monstrosities before they’ve written a single line of code. You cannot fix “too much JavaScript” with more JavaScript and yet React devs are trained to npm install until their problems become their users’ problems.

React is no more a ‘web framework’ than React devs are ‘web developers’. React has spawned a generation void of web fundamentals and woefully ignorant of accessibility. Forget core web vitals, the preferred metric is time to first error.

The proliferation of “AI” has ensured we’ll suffer steaming piles of React slopware for likely another decade. The new React Foundation is a lovely bunch; companies uncomfortably close to genocide and — let me reach into the “what the fuck Zuck” archive — good lord — jesus christ — excuse me while I vomit. The absolute worst of Big Tech.

“React Compiler and Server Components will fix this!”

- Someone, somewhere

Regulate

I’m not actually serious about regulation. Not that kind anyway. Though a JavaScript tax is what we deserve. But it can’t be denied that many in the web industry need an intervention. Please, can we have a little more respect? People have to use the stuff we build.

React’s failures all too often manifest as div-soup accessibility violations. Is there room in WCAG to denounce an “overall shitty experience” from a bloated bundle? WCAG 3.0 is overhauling the guidelines. Directives like the European Accessibility Act give them more teeth. Can poor performance be framed as inaccessible?

Regardless, stop fighting the web!

Make the choice yourself to move from React developer to web developer. It’s a big leap but worth the effort. Learn the platform and embrace what browsers can do as Jim and Alex say, and as Jeremy asks: “why wouldn’t you do that?”

It has never been easier to build a website, stop avoiding it!

P.S. yes I do list “React” on my services page. It’s shocking how early React is prescribed for web projects. When I enquire more it’s just “we use React” without technical merit. I have successfully delivered many of those websites without any JavaScript framework.