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Originally Posted by daffy4u
Well, you could look at it as Amazon making sure that the authors or their estates get the monies that are due them for their work. This, to me, makes publishers more comfortable working with Amazon because they know Amazon will quickly correct an error.
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In the case of Ayn Rand's books, I agree with you, Daffy. I do think Amazon did the right thing. But that obfuscates the more serious problem.
What if some rightwing (or leftwing) group gained enough power to demand that Amazon remove all books about evolution or creationism from all Kindles (kinda like the "remove this offensive book from the library" movements found around the country) and Amazon complied because the economic consequences to Amazon of not complying were too great. Would you think Amazon was in the right? Should Amazon have such unfettered power?
What if Jeff Bezos suddenly had an epiphany and decided that the only acceptable scriptures that could be loaded on a Kindle were those that he authorized as part of his messianic mission to save the world? Or that any books critical of him and/or Amazon were not permitted?
I admit to being facetious and certainly would not expect to see such things occur, but then again who in 1922 thought Adolf Hitler was for real? Isn't the fact of having such power troublesome even though it is not being misused today? What happens when Saint Jeff gives up the reins to Devil Sam?