Quote:
Originally Posted by CleverClothe
And if a school bans a book, you could easily go to the county library or a book store, yes? So you see, a school is similar to a business.
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Not a public school in the U.S., which is funded by taxpayer dollars and the occasional tithe from a state lottery fund. Further, a (non-college) school has a student body made up of minor children who are protected by various statutes from material deemed offensive (or, as the FCC likes to say, "in the prurient interest"). Where that line exists is determined by the community being served; history shows that if a book is banned in a public school, you'll have to go a lot further than the local library to find it, as there's a good chance it's banned there as well.
A business is regulated by a totally different set of laws and acts as a for-profit entity with completely different priorities. Amazon's priority right now is the holiday shopping season. As long as they adhere to the law, they can sell (and more to the point,
not sell) whatever they like, and they can make that distinction arbitrarily. Taking the already-purchased ebook "back" without notice or a refund is absurd, however, and Amazon screwed up on that one without a doubt.