There are some important facts to know. There was an e-book being sold on Amazon called The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure: A Child Lover’s Code of Conduct. It’s a real thing and apparently only one copy was sold. The author, Phillip Greaves, also claims he isn’t a pedophile. Now, we can let you know that Amazon stopped sales of the e-book, after actually defending the sale of it, quite possibly setting a precedent for a future where Amazon ends up policing its own content.
Initially, Amazon took the stance of protecting the sale of the book. Amazon told TechCrunch:
“Amazon believes it is censorship not to sell certain books simply because we or others believe their message is objectionable. Amazon does not support or promote hatred or criminal acts, however, we do support the right of every individual to make their own purchasing decisions.”
Well, after all of the backlash one can imagine being directed at Amazon for the sale of the e-book, Amazon gave in and took the e-book off the digital shelves. Aside from the offensive book (one that the author says attempts to help make practicing pedophilia ‘safer’) getting greenlit for self-publication due to the largely unpoliced e-book policy on Amazon to this point, the bigger story, which seems to be overshadowed by the e-book’s title alone, is that after Amazon said it wouldn’t pull the book due to its policy against censorship, it pulled the book anyway, an act that will surely make it more difficult for Amazon to decline halting the sale of future products and potentially impose on the company a greater burden of monitoring user content.
(via International Business Times)
