That Amazon has the ability to delete/remove ebooks you have purchased for your Kindle is disturbing. You don’t really own a Kindle ebook–it’s just licensed to you and you have the ability to view it unlimited times, ahem, unless Amazon or a publisher changes it’s mind.
Beyond this, the fact that Amazon still has access to what’s in your Kindle has deeper implications…
Justin Gawronski, a 17-year-old from the Detroit area, was reading “1984” on his Kindle for a summer assignment and lost all his notes and annotations when the file vanished. “They didn’t just take a book back, they stole my work,” he said.
Can’t you imagine certain government security agencies asking Amazon to let them know which ebooks certain “people of interest” have bought–and hand over copies of files found on the Kindle. It would be a win-win situation, Amazon would get a chance to be patriotic and, if the POI has made any notes/annotations), the government gets to see them without needing a warrant.
Of course, the scenario wouldn’t have to play out that way. Amazon could have a backbone and demand warrants, etc.
Tawanna Sullivan 