The Internet Post – by bjjangles
Thousands of people last week discovered that Amazon had quietly removed electronic copies of George Orwell’s 1984 from their Kindle e-book readers. In the process, Amazon revealed how easy censorship will be in the Kindle age.
In this case, the mass e-book removals were motivated by copyright . A company called MobileReference, who did not own the copyrights to the books 1984 and Animal Farm, uploaded both books to the Kindle store and started selling them. When the rights owner heard about this, they contacted Amazon and asked that the e-books be removed. And Amazon decided to erase them not just from the store, but from all the Kindles where they’d been downloaded. Amazon operators used the Kindle wireless network, called WhisperNet, to quietly delete the books from people’s devices and refund them the money they’d paid.
An uproar followed, with outraged customers pointing out the irony that Amazon was deleting copies of a novel about a fascist media state that constantly alters history by changing digital records of what has happened. Amazon’s action flies in the face of what people expect when they purchase a book. Under the “right of first sale” in the U.S., people can do whatever they like with a book after purchasing it, including giving it to a friend or reselling it. There is no option for a bookseller to take that book back once it’s sold.
Apparently, until last week, Amazon claimed it wouldn’t take back purchased books either: The New York Times’ Brad Stone reports:
Amazon’s published terms of service agreement for the Kindle does not appear to give the company the right to delete purchases after they have been made. It says Amazon grants customers the right to keep a “permanent copy of the applicable digital content.”
But this isn’t the first time there has been a problem with secret deletings. Stone adds:
Amazon appears to have deleted other purchased e-books from Kindles recently. Customers commenting on Web forums reported the disappearance of digital editions of the Harry Potter books and the novels of Ayn Rand over similar issues.
Now that the public is up in arms over the Kindle deletions, Amazon is once again promising good behavior. Amazon spokesman Drew Herdener told reporters:
We are changing our systems so that in the future we will not remove books from customers’ devices in these circumstances.
http://theinternetpost.net/2013/04/10/amazon-secretly-removes-1984-from-the-kindle/
I read it in high school and again when homeschooling my grandson.
Then we did the movie which pretty much ingrained it in.
wow, first the capitulating to collect online tax from CA, TX etc.
now removing a book that talks about tyrants removing books.
Scamazon-you’re gonna lose me one of these days.
Kindle can go F themselves when they do this, they should be boycoted by everyone. They are anti american and should not be allowed in america, period. Freedom of information and right to knowledge is something kindle and those others do not believe in and therefore should be boycotted. F*ck them c*cksuckers.
Nazi cencorship is live an will in USA..
Sure we can boycott Amazon, but why waste energy and time? Can you say HYPERINFLATION AND THE DEAD DOLLAR? Who will be able to buy food let alone Amazon’s goods? Better to devote energy to getting states to legalize gold/silver asap.
Hey katwomyn, money is money anyway you look at it – be it coinage, paper, gold or silver, and the PTB control all of it. Recognize the states and/or the govt. and you are already defeated. barter, trade, or something besides money, gold, or silver and you will be a whole lot more secure and better off kiddo.
Hey digger Can you imagine how much a quart of my canned meat(beef, pork and deer) will be worth when all they have is useless gold “certificates ” or even hard gold assets maybe an OUNCE a quart or those paper $$$$$$$$$$$$ yes siree hard tangible useful items will soon be worth “their weight in gold” but they wont have enough to buy but I always have enough to share with friends.
Steve
Yep Steve, we are on the same page. Most people do not think that way though.
I can only think for me and mine which is why my potatos are going in the ground this week 200# will more than produce enough to go a yr or more and the garden season of 2013 is off but this weekend Im going to find the FIRST MORREL MUSHROOMS of the year I am as excited as a kid in a candy store for those who indulge in this yearly treat you can feel my excitement.been eating ramps(a wild onion of sorts ) for about 2 wks but they dont compare to molly moochers.
Steve
That`s alot of seed potatoes Steve. This year in Wi. is realy starting to suck as far as a garden goes. We got a ice storm and snow today with more snow later this week. we are about 20 – 25 degrees below normal. You make me jealous talking that morrel mushrooms season. I used to grow in containers but it is time to turn over some soil this year if this weather tunes up. last year it was just a 20 by 20 ft. garden. Anyway it is time to call it a night again Good night ya`ll hope to see ya tomorrow.
Thats why I have perfected the skills I have! Gardening
Wine making
Shine making
Gun making
Do it myself or trade. What choice do I have? Sadly, I have a union pension but expect that to be stolen completely and am surprised it hasn’t disappeared yet.
I figure it this way, in the Reborn America we may very well be returned to the early 20th century or late 19th century. Far too many people will be dazed and unable to do many things themselves. They will be obliged to trade something for the Goods I produce. It will not matter if that something is a chicken, eggs, labor, a wheel, etc.
You have something I want, I have something you want. LETS TRADE!
NOW THAT IS THE FREE MARKET SYSTEM!!!
That’s why I like REAL books. Just like money, If you don’t have physical control of it, it’s not yours. Suckers beware!
Exactly, Rhumstruck. They can change the wording in the e-copies or even delete it all, but they can’t delete or change it once it’s in physical form. I think that is what the elitists had planned with e-books at one point. To use it in order to put all bookstores out of business and to just sell e-copies and no one would know whether the e-copy was actually the real copy or not because they can just change it anytime they want over time and all of the real information would be gone and replaced with false information.
Luckily, WE THE PEOPLE are on to their little “1984” game and many people still go to bookstores because they enjoy having that hard copy in their hands, not only because they know it is the real thing, but also because it doesn’t hurt your eyes or give you a headache to read it over long periods of time like an e-reader would do.
This book, as well as “animal Farm” were required reading for me in high school.
I had no idea back then they were non-fiction.