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Uncategorized Thursday, November 11th 2010 at 10:46 am

Amazon Stops Selling The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure Following Uproar

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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)

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  • Sylin

    Registered just to post this. If you’re going to start an article off with “important facts to know” please get your facts correct.

    Amazon did not defend the book. People emailed them to complain, and those people received canned email replies. Every large company uses a system for responding to customers with pre-written comments. They use keywords in the customer email to facilitate matching up the best response possible. If you had sent them an email demanding they pull “Three Little Pigs” you would have likely received the same response.

    Bob Jones sitting in a cubicle is not the spokesperson for Amazon. He has no authority to pull the book. All he can do is send the best response available to him in the system, and then direct the message up the chain of command.

    Equating a canned email response with an official public statement is unethical.

    Think of the alternative: If they hadn’t sent anyone a reply, they’d be demonized for being aloof and disconnected from their customers. If they had pulled the book immediately, and it turned out the book was benign or misunderstood, the author and the public would be crying censorship. You just can’t win with some people.

    That said, I applaud Amazon’s actions. In under 24 hours from when this matter first exploded on the web, the book is pulled for sale. Not sure about you, but I call that an appropriate and timely response.

  • http://twitter.com/Jplafke James Plafke

    “Initially, Amazon took the stance of protecting the sale of the book” doesn’t mean “Amazon defended the principles and practices explained in the book.” It just means Amazon took the stance of protecting the sale of the book. Not protecting the book’s ideals.