Amazon.com Delisting Books
(scroll down for update)
As recently covered in an online L.A. TIMES article, Amazon.com has recently implemented a strategy to remove certain books from its sales ranks and some searches. The intention is to remove books with "adult" content as showing up in the ranks, regardless of sales. The article shows how the policy seems to be uneven, even de-ranking one version of THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY but not another (and really? THAT book is unacceptable?). Authors are finding their books de-listed without even being contacted about it.
As any book lover knows, censorship of books has been happening for hundreds of years. Banned Book Month is September, a month I have celebrated by making sure I read a book that has been banned. Fans of the Harry Potter books know that even those relatively innocuous novels have been subjected to censorship. LADY CHATTERLY'S LOVER is known in part because of its incredible history of censorship.
I can sort of see where Amazon.com might want to limit the ability for a child to come across a book with content that is not appropriate for their age level. However, this is not the way to do it.
Few things can get me riled up like the limiting of people's ability to make their own choices. When people go to Amazon.com, they are expecting to have access to millions of books, for their searches to be as complete as possible, and to be able to make their own decisions about what is appropriate for them or not. Many people think of it as the de facto online book database, something Amazon.com has tried to encourage.
This is completely unacceptable! Even if their definition of "adult" content was reasonable, who is Amazon.com to decide what is appropriate for us? Many of us read erotica. Is Amazon.com going to start hiding those books, too? I have a bunch of friends who love M/M erotica. Is that going to be the next target? Where is the line? And why should Amazon.com feel it's okay to draw that line, especially without consulting their customers or the authors of the books.
There are options available for protesting this policy. You can call 1-800-201-7575 or send an email. You can also boycott the web site until the policy is discontinued. Let your voices be heard or your favorite book may be on the chopping block next.
UPDATE (Tuesday, April 14, 2009): As of today, Amazon is calling the de-rankings an error. They have restored all rankings previously removed. However, the statement given is a bit ambiguous. Amazon said this was an "embarrassing and ham-fisted cataloging error" and that it was working to correct it.
This doesn't mean Amazon still isn't going to mark "adult" books in some way. It means they know they upset people and are trying to appease them. If you are still concerned about how your favorite books might be handled by Amazon in the future, I suggest keeping an eye on them. Designating a book as "adult" is fine, but the rest of the measures taken could cause many wonderful books to go unnoticed.
Nicole
posted at 11:02 AM
12 Comments:
Thank you so much for this information! I just received an order from Amazon today. I order from them all the time. What gives them the right to deny me access to any book that I want to read? Haven't they heard of the First Amendment? If they are concerned about children accessing certain books on their website, make it to where those areas are password access only. Act like it's an adult-content website.
I read and write erotica. All of mine is kinky, BDSM erotica. Is Amazon going to start telling me that I can't buy these kinds of books? If they are going to start limiting our access to "adult" content books, what is next? Limiting our access to books on liberal or left-wing politics? Books that are on non-Christian religions? No one has the right to tell me what I can or cannot read! Period.
I respectfully disagree with the opinion stated in this blog. As a private company (not the government) the men and women who run Amazon have every right, even an obligation, to run their business in a way that reflects their values.
Would you argue that an adult book store should be forced to stock, say, cookbooks? I wouldn't. I'd say the owners of such a business have the right to determine what their customers want, and to meet that demand.
I have no problem with Amazon drawing lines. It's their right, just as another business owner has the right to sell products he or she values.
Dear Anon,
I see your point and I generally agree with it. Where my frustration comes from is that Amazon has been positioning themselves as the end all be all of the online book market. They have set out to be the best online book resource around by offering e-books, the Kindle, the Amazon Marketplace and excerpts of published books.
By doing that, and then deliberately excluding books, that's not right. Also, their policy is not evenly applied. By putting only some of those books out of sight and not others, it's implying a lot more than just a desire to keep adult content out of the hands of children.
Nicole
Interestingly enough, many of the same titles are listed in their Kindle format. Amazon's TOS states a customer must be 18 to use the site. I would assume this is because in order to have a credit card, the customer must be 18. So by that reasoning, why are children on there at all?
True, it's their website and they can set it up how they want, but as Nicole said, if they want to be the largest seller of books, they can't elminate certain genres from being sold. Some of the books involved don't even have sexual conduct within them and many are self help books.
Interesting enough, if you search the term homosexuality, the first book that pops up now is How to Stop Your Child From Being a Homosexual (paraphrased, I'm certain I've not gotten it verbatim.)
More offensive to me, as a consumer, is that they are still allowing serial killer how to-s (one of which made a reader sick), how to build a bomb, hacking guides, etc. Why is violence and murder all right but scenes of love are not? Plus the sex toys and Playboy books which are still searchable.
And no, I'm not homosexual and I don't care for same sex books (fiction) but I'll defend their right to be sold to the death.
More to the point, I believe much mainstream romance is not searchable at this point. I go every few months to see what is coming out in the forseeable future. Just last week I noticed the coming soon titles for romance were very thinned out as compared to before.
Even some sci fi has been removed. So yes, I see this as Amazon saying, we read this, we recommend it and guess what? If you want to shop here, you'll read what we choose.
I've never been one to listen to someone telling me not to like someone or not to believe something. I'll not be told what I can read. I'm tired of being told what to wear and what I'm allowed to have entertain me.
I'm done with Amazon. There are other places to shop. And if this does have to do with what children can see, I can only say that it's a sad state where everything has to revolve around unsupervised children and adults being Nannied.
And I began reading romance at the age of 12. I'd be more worried about my children reading about vampires.
I agree with Anonymous. I've never ordered from Amazon, but will definitely check them out for my next book order.
Isn't erotica basically "printed porn"? The poster above states she writes "kinky and BDSM", sounds like porn to me.
No, erotica is not print porn. Some is, but erotic romance has a happily ever after and most have a plot. The language is simply more to the point then what you read in mainstream books.
>>>>>They have set out to be the best online book resource around . . . By doing that, and then deliberately excluding books, that's not right. <<<
Hi Nicole, I see your point, but I don't agree with it. We're probably getting in the area of anti-trust laws, something I know zilch about. I think the general idea is that corporations with lots of power (TV stations, phone company, RRs) have to give others fair access. Is that what you're saying?
I still disagree. Frankly, it's a moral issue with me. It's like saying a pro-life doctor *must* perform abortions because they're legal. Yes, they are legal, but would you force a person with strong beliefs to go against those beliefs? Hospitals give medical staff the choice to opt out of any procedure they find morally compromising. I think a bookstore owner, which is what Amazon essentially is, has the right to not stock books he / she / the corporate board dislikes for whatever reason.
I'd argue that readers can find the books Amazon has chosen not to promote on other websites with relative ease.
Interesting discussion. Take Care!
Amazon has the right to sell or do whatever they want. They may be doing this based on customer preferences that they have researched for all we know. Personally, I like the idea of passwords for adult content but then most kids know how to get around them anyway if they aren't watched. Parents who don't want their kids reading this stuff need to be extra vigilant these days. I suspect if enough people complain about this, Amazon will reverse their decision. I don't think this is really censorship just a business decision.
If these are some of their best selling genres, which I'm sure they're right up there, it's a really poor business decision. Some mainstream romance have been included in this choice of their's as well.
So, if they get away with this mess they've created, next month they'll decide they don't like fictional murder, then the mysteries will be gone.
And as stated before, if your TOS clearly state you must be 18 or over to use the site, why are they catering to children anyway? And why are they still featuring children books about same sex parents? They're not monitoring for the kids, they've decided we adults need protection from ourselves.
They've started making us all look alike via uniforms at work and schools, now the push is on to make us all think alike. Like what corporate America decides you should read, watch, listen to or go without entertainment.
That's all right, I can purchase from retailers who treat all books equally. Barnes & Noble, Borders and Powells will be glad to take my money.
What is Powells, Muffin? I haven't heard of that.
And as to the person who asked about porn: erotica is not porn. It is a whole other genre. And besides, if I want to read porn, it is within my rights to do so. Neither you nor Amazon have the right to tell me what I can and cannot purchase to read. You may not approve of it and that's your business. And I may not agree with your choice of reading material, but I will fight for your right to read it.
I am concerned that Amazon will continue to say, "Well, this book has sex in it, so out it goes." There go our romances. "This book has violence." There go several genres: mysteries, true crime, sci-fi, fantasy, etc. Yes, this is a business decision and very bad one at that. Amazon is going to lose a lot of customers and their business is going down the tubes.
Powell's is an online bookseller who has some B&M stores. I've never dealt there...I do know Dear Author posted buy links for a while but everyone continued buying from Amazon.
I agree that as a store owner, which is what Amazon is at its simplest, they have the right to do whatever they choose to do. And so does a racist bar owner have the right to deny service to someone they deem inappropriate. Is either of these a good idea? Sound business? That is what this brings up for me.
To the anon who said they stock whatever they choose... this is true. However, that is not the issue here. They are carrying the books - just not allowing them to be found by the customers looking for them, to allow their sales to be counted the same as any other book, and therefore not only hiding their wares, but insulting and harming the business of those authors.
I agree its a moral issue, just not in the same way. Is it wrong to expect a corporate entity to consider the ethics of a situation before they haphazardly apply it to thier business? I don't think so. Is it wrong to expect a business to consider not just their customers but the authors/publishers they are offering for sale? If I was a cient of a company that decided on little to no evidence to refuse my wares, I would be considering a lawsuit. Really, how is this much different?
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