|
Scaremongering.
1. Amazon has promised there won't be a repeat occurrence of the recent debacle.
2. If Amazon breaks this promise there are half a dozen ebook reader sellers ready to take Amazon's customers.
3. There are already many tools to remove DRM and this can stop Amazon or anyone else remotely deleting a book you've purchased.
4. File sharing networks will make censorship of books and information increasingly difficult.
5. You can always buy a device that isn't permanently connected.
As companies experiment with new business models and new technologies there is bound to be tension over rights. As long as there is no deception over what customers are entitled to, there is no need for the new laws that Farhad Manjoo calls for. These would only restrict choice and block innovations which could deliver unforeseeable benefits to authors and book consumers.
|