Amazon found itself the subject of headlines in papers and tech blogs recently but not because of another Kindle launching. The circumstances were far from pleasant this time as Amazon battles both criticism from consumers and a lawsuit from a disgruntled high schooler who was left, well, homework-less.
It all started when Amazon found out that a couple of books listed on its catalogue were actually unauthorized and that the books were sold illegally. These were George Orwell’s ‘1984‘ and ‘Animal Farm‘. What Amazon did next to attempt to correct the situation was a classic – remove the books from the listing (small issue) and recall sold copies of the e-books which essentially wiped off customer’s copies of these books from their Kindles without prior warning (huge mistake).
Without his copy of 1984 which he had been studying and writing a report on for an advance-placement class, Justin D. Gawronski, a 17-year old from Seattle, suddenly found himself left with useless notes that referenced particular pages of the now-gone book. Gawronski is joined by Antoine J. Bruguier of California in his complaint, and they are now seeking to elevate the case to class-action status.
More than that single instance of unauthorized deletion, this issue has also made Kindle users painfully aware of how much Amazon still has control over whatever electronic content has been purchased. In fact, the lawsuit alleges that the company did not explicitly state upon purchase of the device that it had the right to remotely delete any electronic books that were already paid for and downloaded to the Kindle; a sentiment that many Kindle owners share.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has already issued an apology statement to Kindle users calling the company’s actions of deleting the books without informing customers beforehand “stupid, thoughtless, and painfully out of line with our principles.” It remains to be seen however, if this will somehow ebb the uproar that’s been created by this Kindle fiasco and how far the backlash could go.
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