1. If such regulations are not applied at a big scale (eg, at least EU-wide, preferably internationally), won't prestige still remain desirable for many? This would give researchers under different legislation or privately funded projects an advantage or might create bad incentives to switch funding.

2. How can we overcome the existing association of pecuniary prestige with high quality in many fields?

So regulators only need to enforce existing rules and things would stand to change dramatically, when institutions need to host biddings for their publication needs!

Wekll, it would help if regulators such as governemnt accountability offices (Rechnungshof) realized that since the publishers abandoned subscriptions, their single source exemption from procurement rules also vanished:

https://bjoern.brembs.net/2022/03/why-publication-services-must-not-be-negotiated/

The EU, at least, understands the core problem:

https://bjoern.brembs.net/2026/01/procurement-before-prestige/

Yes, I completely agree. Our institutions are failing and the fish is rotting from the head.

I doubt that cancelling public funding to harmful/commercial publishers alone will fix the issue ...

So one *big* reason is institutions that just keep paying no matter what - as if our institutions didn't know what to do with all their public funds and in their desperation throw it at the most unethical multinationals they can find.

You tell me what you think is the most likely reason behind such behavior?

It's also worth breaking down "what is democracy" because it is not inherently "justice" or "equality for all", though that is often the presumed intent, as the mechanics are equally valid for creating discrimination.

It may help to break down the first premise:

> Academic institutions are committed to democracy, digital sovereignty and environmental sustainability.

Some of the individuals in academia are but, much like corporations, the administrative and financial aspects are not aligned.

If faculty and students of institutions are harassed by their school for protesting involvement with wars and genocide then institutions are not monolithic bastions of democracy

One big reason is that it is pretty irrelevant where we publish, as long as the money flows. And that money has always come mostly from big deals (today often called "transformative agreements"), which are completely removed from where we publish or any kind of demand.

I have seen with my own eyes university leadership signing such contrast even though the relevajnmt committee was unanimously against signing it.

I fear that the situation is even worse than it was 20 years ago. It’s no longer just about publishing: academic software (e.g. PURE), services (e.g. Scopus), and analytics tools (e.g. SciVal and PlumX) have also been readily adopted by academic institutions.

There are many reasons for this, but what I believe is missing is sustained lobbying at the level of decision-makers: a kind of advocacy and pressure group for open infrastructures that maintains a constant presence and activity, countering the relentless lobbying of Elsevier and others.

Of course, I realise that many people are already advocating for open infrastructures in different contexts. But I think it would be a huge boost to have a professional organisation dedicated to this work. One that can engage continuously with decision-makers and bring the issue more visibly into public attention.

#OpenScience #OpenInfrastructures #FundTheFutureYouWant

Why is the academic publishing system so hard to change?

And many more sources on their #Wikipedia page:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsevier#Criticism_and_controversies

Revealed: leading climate research publisher helps fuel oil and gas drilling: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/24/elsevier-publishing-climate-science-fossil-fuels

Addressing the Alarming Systems of Surveillance Built By Library Vendors:
https://sparcopen.org/news/2021/addressing-the-alarming-systems-of-surveillance-built-by-library-vendors/

Elsevier has incorporated 35 companies in Delaware: https://opencorporates.com/companies?q=elsevier&type=companies

Exploring the Role Delaware Plays as a Domestic Tax Haven: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1737937

RELX Annual Report 2025: https://www.relx.com/investors/annual-reports/2025

A note on the sources: The points in the post refer to documented corporate relationships and activities. In particular, incorporation in a jurisdiction associated with tax avoidance does not in itself establish that Elsevier or RELX engaged in tax avoidance.

Image: Garry Knight / CC0 1.0 Universal