On May 17, 2021, Clarivate Analytics announced it was acquiring software, data, and analytics company Proquest for $5.3 billion USD. This acquisition represents the single largest consolidation in recent years, and an unprecedented shift towards monopolistic control over the systems, scholarship, and data of higher education.

This consolidation puts surveillance capitalism at the core of research processes. Combined, the data assets of these two companies create an unprecedented pipeline for surveillance and predictive analytics that puts the safety and security of students and researchers at risk. Clarivate and ProQuest’s businesses center on data — behavioral information about what materials a student is accessing, how a patron interacts with library collections, what researchers are reading and publishing. This personal information is often packaged and sold to marketing entities and law enforcement. Unhindered and unguided by policy and regulation, this consolidation dangerously narrows the control of a large body of research outputs (and information about their usage) into one company’s hands.

This is not an efficiency or market issue; this is an equity issue. This acquisition threatens to exert undue influence on higher education and research by those who prioritise profit over knowledge, negatively impacting the authority, integrity and independence of research. Institutions face further lock-in to costly tools and services, creating lasting dependencies to systems that perpetuate the continued surveillance of their communities.  

We believe additional regulation, oversight, and action are needed. Join us in calling for more transparency, review, and regulation into the software and systems embedded in higher education and learning.

If you'd like to add your signature to indicate your support of this initiative, please complete this form. Your information will be displayed on the Invest in Open Infrastructure website: https://investinopen.org/blog/take-action-to-stop-the-lock-up-of-research-and-learning/