Last week’s scary story of the Norwegian Kindle owner who had all her books snatched back by Amazon has raised a few hackles. I can think of no other field of endeavour where “buying” something gives you only temporary title which can be rescinded at the press of a button by the vendor.
When you want a book from Amazon you press the Click to Buy button. Surely this should be “Click to Rent as Long as We Think Fit”? How long can ebook sellers get away with pulling the wool over our eyes so comprehensively, I wonder.
This is a job for the European Commission, if ever there were one. The current situation is manifestly unfair to the consumer.
by Mike Evans, 25 October 2012
