Kindle Users Sue Over Amazon's Orwellian Deletes

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 1, 2009 6:38 AM CDT
Kindle Users Sue Over Amazon's Orwellian Deletes
Kindle users who had their books deleted without permission are seeking to have Amazon stripped of the ability to delete content remotely.   (©jblyberg)

Customers who had their paid-for copies of 1984 and Animal Farm yanked from their Kindles over a copyright issue are taking Amazon to court, InformationWeek reports. The company has apologized for its action and vowed not to repeat it, but the plaintiffs, who include a high school student whose homework was deleted with the book, say the mere fact that Amazon can delete content at will diminishes the value of their Kindles.

"Amazon.com had no more right to hack into people's Kindles than its customers have the right to hack into Amazon's bank account to recover a mistaken overpayment," a lawyer representing the customers said. "Technology companies increasingly feel that because they have the ability to access people's personal property, they have the right to do so. That is 100% contrary to the laws of this country." (More copyright stories.)

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