Amazon is banning books and films they don’t like
Big Tech companies have so much power that even a small step creates an earthquake that ripples throughout the world. For instance, Amazon has quietly adopted a new policy against any books or movies with material it considers hate speech.
There’s just one problem: Amazon doesn’t define what it considers hate speech. Because of this, tons of free speech advocates are sounding the alarm bells, especially since Amazon is quietly cracking down on conservative media. The tech giant recently removed a documentary about Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as well as a book about transgender issues written by conservative author Ryan Anderson.
This isn’t the first time Amazon removed right-wing content this year. In January, it shut down Parler, a popular social media app for conservatives. Republican senators claim this issue impacts the entire digital world.
Is Amazon allergic to transparency?
The book causing a stir is a former Amazon bestseller named “When Harry Became Sally,” which claims to provide “thoughtful answers to questions arising from our transgender movement.” Amazon has banned books in the past, although these were mainly full of conspiracy theories claiming the Holocaust never happened.
Although Amazon hasn’t released any statements condemning this book, it removed “When Harry Became Sally” from its subsidiaries Kindle and Audible. Despite the lack of communication, Amazon’s actions make a clear message: This book has been deemed unacceptable. Now, Republican lawmakers want to know why.
Marco Rubio, Mike Braun, Mike Lee and Josh Hawley demand an explanation in an open letter to Jeff Bezos. The politicians declared this an assault on free speech that could impact the future of digital discourse. “By removing this book from its marketplaces and services, Amazon has unabashedly wielded its outsized market share to silence an important voice merely for the crime of violating woke groupthink,” they wrote.
Below is part of their statement:
Many Americans have come to rely on online retail more than ever before to meet their basic needs, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. In its decision to remove Mr. Anderson’s book from its platforms, Amazon has openly signaled to conservative Americans that their views are not welcome on its platforms.
Whether you agree with Amazon’s actions or not, the lack of transparency is sparking concerns across the political spectrum. It triggers worries about Amazon’s reliability.
For instance, tons of huge tech companies track you from site to site. Amazon gives you options to mitigate the amount of data it collects on you — but if the company isn’t open about certain aspects of its business practices, that calls into question its honesty across all aspects of its company.
Speaking of data gathering, if you want to figure out what information the websites you visit are collecting, we found a handy tool that can help.
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