In an Orwellian twist, '1984' deleted from Kindle
Roberto Salome
Issue date: 7/31/09 Section: Ed-Op
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George Orwell's "Animal Farm" and "1984" were the two books that caused the problem. Lacking the proper rights to sell the books, the text was deemed illegal. Amazon decided to correct the problem by secretly deleting all copies of these books that had been purchased and refunding the accounts the complete cost. This may seem like a reasonable resolution; however, it was done without any prior notification to the customers.
No. This is not an early case of digital book burning.
Like many other digital devices of its kind, the Amazon Kindle allows users to digitally purchase content directly from the device without having to purchase a physical object.
This method of delivery is the future of content purchases. It allows books, songs and movies to be received in seconds while cutting back on costs and other material wastes that physical objects cause. Apparently, it also allows certain companies the right to do whatever they want if they do not agree with certain actions, something Orwell warns about in his novels.
This incident brings up many questions about how digital content will be handled in the future. The first is the one dealing with Digital Rights Management. Are users actually purchasing the content, or are they just merely purchasing the rights to view it? DRM has failed in the past and will continue to fail in the future. There isn't much more to discuss.
The more important topic deals with totalitarianism, an actual Orwellian theme.
In the present day, people are constantly being watched electronically. Almost every action leaves behind a digital trail. This event should be a reminder to everyone. From overbearing advertisements to online banking, all of these actions involve some sort of monitoring. The tools for an authoritative force to control all aspects of human life are in the process of being laid out.
The People's Republic of China has even taken it one step further. Censorship is in full swing in China as its citizens cannot even view certain Web sites if they are deemed not suitable.
In a country that was built on the principles of freedom and privacy, the digital revolution is coming as a shock to America. Customers do not want to be treated as criminals for partaking in everyday actions. It's important to note that the consumers were at no fault in this case. All they did was pay for a book they wanted.
In the technological age, word tends to spread. News of Amazon's deletion spread quickly and many kindle owners as well as other people admonished the web site.
Amazon has issued an apology over the incident. They realize that their solution was not ideal, and they will create a new method for handling illegally sold books if it occurs in the future.
This course of action taken by Amazon shows that the United States is not heading towards the direction of an entity that rules over the Internet. That won't happen any time soon. Nevertheless, this is a crucial time where pivotal laws are being created to handle the uncertainties with digital content and events occurring in cyberspace.
It is still too soon to predict how this all will play out.
Roberto Salome is a pre-junior majoring in computer engineering. He can be reached at op-ed@thetriangle.org.
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