Research funded by taxpayers is often locked behind paywalls controlled by global publishers earning billions, despite a growing push for open access in academia. While tech giants like Google rake in massive profits, a less visible industry operates in the background with a business model that raises ethical questions: academic publishing.
Major publishers earn billions of euros by selling research back to universities — research those same institutions have already paid for, from scientists' salaries down to pens and paper. Many science enthusiasts are familiar with the scenario: a promising article title leads to a paywall demanding dozens of euros for access.
Naturally, the question arises — why must we pay again for knowledge produced with public funding? According to the Estonian Research Council (ETAg), 68 percent of Estonia-affiliated scientific articles were open access in 2023. While that's a significant increase from 47 percent in 2018, there's still a long way to go before full transparency is achieved.
This is a global issue that, despite pressure from researchers and other stakeholders, has proven difficult and slow to resolve. At its core is a collision of research ethics, economic interests and deeply entrenched international practices.
Published: September 18, 2025 12:24 pm
Source: ERR — Read original