Techno-colonization of scholarly communication: A call to reclaim control

Vidolov, Simeon; Klein, Stefan

Abstract

This essay examines the capture of scholarly communication by commercial publishers who have transformed into data analytics firms. We show how the consolidation of infrastructural, epistemic, and rhetorical control enables not only economic profiteering but also enacts symbolic violence: reshaping academic values, practices, and futures. Through opaque systems of surveillance, data extraction, and algorithmic governance, these firms increasingly dictate what counts as knowledge and success. We frame this transformation as a form of techno-colonization that threatens academic autonomy and integrity. In response, we call for active resistance—reclaiming scholarly agency, dismantling extractive infrastructures, and building alternative futures.