> working towards the benefit of humanity is not an exclusive right / domain of theirs

That's not their goal or else they wouldn't be burning books. Their goal is making money no matter the cost to the society.

If they were just chopping them up without scanning them first, then sure, but I think that scanning books and burning books are polar opposites

Burning books and destroying them in a way that nobody else can access the content anymore is a distinction without a difference.