Should Amazon censor products?

MLE (Emily Cotton) · Post by **MLE (Emily Cotton)** » Thu November 11th, 2010, 12:55 am

More serious, Amazon has listed a how-to guide for pedophile sex. I'm going to check that one out, and if true, I'll boycott them until it's down -- even though I just bought a Kindle.

Divia · Post by **Divia** » Thu November 11th, 2010, 2:57 am

[quote=""MLE""]More serious, Amazon has listed a how-to guide for pedophile sex. I'm going to check that one out, and if true, I'll boycott them until it's down -- even though I just bought a Kindle.[/quote]

umm. wow. I'mgoing to have to check. I heard something about a pedophile book on the internet but didnt know what they were talking about. Yikes.

LoveHistory · Post by **LoveHistory** » Thu November 11th, 2010, 3:30 pm

[quote=""MLE""]More serious, Amazon has listed a how-to guide for pedophile sex. I'm going to check that one out, and if true, I'll boycott them until it's down -- even though I just bought a Kindle.[/quote]

Ok I may be wrong on this, but isn't that illegal? Or is it ok to sell a book giving a how-to on something that is illegal as long as it doesn't actually tell people to engage in the illegal act themselves?

I'm all for freedom of speech, but that is so, so wrong! It takes sickening to a whole new level.

Miss Moppet · Post by **Miss Moppet** » Thu November 11th, 2010, 6:24 pm

[quote=""LoveHistory""]Ok I may be wrong on this, but isn't that illegal? Or is it ok to sell a book giving a how-to on something that is illegal as long as it doesn't actually tell people to engage in the illegal act themselves?

I'm all for freedom of speech, but that is so, so wrong! It takes sickening to a whole new level.[/quote]

Seems it is not illegal, but Amazon have withdrawn it from sale, despite their earlier statement to the contrary.

ETA: Dear Author is also reporting they have withdrawn it, but it seems it is not the only objectionable title on offer.

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Thu November 11th, 2010, 7:14 pm

[quote=""Miss Moppet""]Seems it is not illegal, but Amazon have withdrawn it from sale, despite their earlier statement to the contrary.

ETA: Dear Author is also reporting they have withdrawn it, but it seems it is not the only objectionable title on offer.[/quote]

I seem to recall some umbrage a couple of years ago over a cock fighting magazine which Amazon refused to withdraw from sale. There's been a thread at the Top Reviewers forum at Amazon and mention of the media picking up the story.

MLE (Emily Cotton) · Post by **MLE (Emily Cotton)** » Thu November 11th, 2010, 7:16 pm

Sometimes I think people have become so knee-jerk anti-censorship that they have lost any sense of proportion. The problem of being so open-minded that your brains fall out.

There are some things that need to be censored. Information on how to make and distribute weapons of mass destruction. Media which encourage the harm of others, especially children. After checking this out, I stumbled across info on a video game that reenacts stalking and raping a woman and her daughters. How have we come to tolerate this? What earthly reason could a sane society have for propagating this kind of filth?

Miss Moppet · Post by **Miss Moppet** » Thu November 11th, 2010, 8:20 pm

[quote=""MLE""]Sometimes I think people have become so knee-jerk anti-censorship that they have lost any sense of proportion. The problem of being so open-minded that your brains fall out.[/quote]

Couldn't agree more. What has shocked me almost as much as Amazon selling the book is how many people are willing to defend it in the name of free speech.

CindyInOz · Post by **CindyInOz** » Fri November 12th, 2010, 1:00 am

I don't understand this at all. The thought of anyone wanting to buy, or even sell, a book like this makes me feel so ill and so sad.

LoveHistory · Post by **LoveHistory** » Fri November 12th, 2010, 1:43 am

[quote=""MLE""]What earthly reason could a sane society have for propagating this kind of filth?[/quote]

I'm beginning to think "sane society" is an oxymoron.

In answer to the question posed by the topic header: Amazon is not a government entity, therefore they may censor whatever they like. They are not required to carry specific products. They do not need to censor something to refuse to sell it. There is a difference between the two.

MLE (Emily Cotton) · Post by **MLE (Emily Cotton)** » Fri November 12th, 2010, 5:56 am

Please note this got moved into debate forum. I didn't come up with the header -- mine would have been something like "have they lost any sense of social responsibility over at Amazon?"

Actually, my physicist friend told me tonight that there are books being sold on how to make an atomic weapon. Pretty frightening.