Fortunately (by some definition of fortunately), most countries don’t agree on exactly how the web should be “locked down.” This benefits at least some people (

Fortunately (by some definition of fortunately), most countries don’t agree on exactly how the web should be “locked down.” This benefits at least some people (like me) who live in countries who make also no effort to restrict what can be shoved down the internet tube, including from countries that don’t particularly care about western copyright law. Would it be nice to have a fully sanctioned pandemic library-style service? Absolutely. But I have never once looked for a textbook, paper, regular book, etc online and not found a copy for free. Usually takes the same amount of time or less compared to finding a copy on Amazon (if it’s currently in print), and almost always less time using my library’s clunky online ebook platform[1]. Is that legal? Technically yes, in my country. Is it ethical? Debatable, depending on who you’re asking. But for me personally, I have found it to be getting substantially easier to find high quality copies of copyrighted anything in the past 3-5 years compared to 10-15 years ago, so I don’t necessarily agree with the blanket statement that “the net is only getting more locked down.” [1] I like to use the library as much as possible, if for nothing else than to increase usage numbers to marginally positively decrease the likelihood of finding cuts.