SUNY urged to probe contract with publisher accused of censorship

A trio of state senators are calling on SUNY to investigate its $2.7 million contract with a powerhouse publishing company accused of acquiescing to the Chinese government by censoring articles.

Springer Nature, the dominant publisher of academic journals which has a five-year contract with the State University of New York system, allegedly blocked access to thousands of articles in 2017 “in China that discussed politically sensitive topics such as Taiwan, Tibet, and human rights,” Sens. John Liu (D-Queens), Toby Stavisky (D-Queens) and Iwen Chu (D-Brooklyn) wrote in an Oct. 23 letter to SUNY Chancellor John King, which was obtained by The Post.

Reports in 2020 then revealed Springer Nature “pressured Taiwanese authors to list ‘China’ after ‘Taiwan’ in their articles, with some submissions being rejected if authors refused.”

“These actions reflect a troubling willingness to prioritize business interests over academic integrity, which conflicts with SUNY’s commitment to global scholarly collaboration and the free exchange of ideas,” the lawmakers said.

But SUNY defended the deal in a Nov. 7 response.

The “systemwide” deal with Springer Nature — which oversees 2,700 journals and generates $2 billion in annual revenues — helps save money instead of having some of its 64 individual colleges negotiate with the journal publishing giant, according to Will Schwartz, SUNY’s vice chancellor for government relations.

“This contract does not dissuade competition from other publishers, nor does it require our campuses to enter into the agreement,” Schwartz added.

The no-bid arrangement with Springer Nature was approved by state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s office, Schwarz noted. SUNY OK’d the contract in 2022, and it can be reviewed annually.

Liu blasted Schwartz’s dismissive response as “embarrassing.”

“SUNY is supposed to be a bastion of academic freedom,” Liu said. “SUNY must do better.”

Springer Nature was slapped with an antitrust lawsuit in September that accused the company of monopolizing critical academic research access and exploiting unpaid academic labor through the peer review process.

The lawsuit alleges that Springer Nature and other major academic publishers have colluded to suppress competition — squeezing out smaller publishers while raising costs for institutions like SUNY.

“The concentration of academic content under Springer Nature’s control, combined with its troubling history of censorship and monopolistic behavior, presents significant risks to SUNY’s reputation and mission. It is imperative that SUNY reassess its contract with Springer Nature in light of these concerns,” the lawmakers said.