Hubris is the my favorite Shakespearean fatal flaw.
Clearly this is the sort of behavior only seen in an entity which views itself as completely unassailable and indispensable. If they consider the possibility that maybe nobody will read their publication anymore (if that is a possibility) then their policy would likely change. Clearly they think that is impossible or they wouldn’t seek to punish or disincentivize those who recommend their publications to others.
Similar hubris is also in evidence in the intelligence agencies - NSA overreach being the most obvious example. Because they assume the US will always remain in control of the internet and its structures, they assume they can mess with it any way they like at no cost to themselves of the US in general. When that changes, which is happening now, they will be the most shocked.
