I’ve written before about Sci-Hub and their fight with the publishing industry (1, 2). It’s easy to see both sides of the argument but one side, the publishers, have acted in ways that deplete whatever goodwill they might have had.
Boing Boing is reporting on the latest skirmish. Elsevier sued Bahnhof, an ISP in Sweden, demanding that it block access to Sci-Hub. They got the courts to agree and since a larger better heeled ISP had lost an appeal on a similar suit, they reluctantly agreed to comply. But they went a step further and blocked access to the Elsevier site as well, saying that if Elsevier wants to block sites, they should get a taste of their own medicine. For good measure, they also blocked access to the Bahnhof site from any connections coming from the Patent and Market Court that had issued the original ruling
Whatever you’re feelings about the dispute between Sci-Hub and the publishers, it’s hard not to see Bahnhof’s response as the perfect middle finger to those who use arguably out-of-date laws to punish anyone who interferes with their business model and draft third parties to involuntarily do their dirty work.
It’s one more reason, if you needed it, to take the side of Sci-Hub.