Take the below case, where someone had their account canceled by Amazon, and inquiries got back frustratingly vague messages that her account had been associated with another Bad Actor, and so was being canceled.
Which would be an unpleasant circumstance, if it weren't that her Kindle account was canceled, the Kindle wiped, and all those books she'd "bought" were suddenly, permanently unavailable. Because, of course, you don't own those books, and if the only way to get to them is though your account, which is now permanently cancelled.
Lessons and observations to take from this:
1. I can understand at one level why the messages were vague; if Amazon's conclusion was that the lady involved was actually a Bad Actor, then going into too much detail could give clues that could be used to circumvent Amazon's protections in the future. That said …
2. Any mechanism or process that can take serious action against someone needs some sort of detailed, engaged appeal process. Because systems make mistakes, and systems that can't correct their mistakes are bad systems.
3. We are, of course, only getting one side of the story here (and that second-hand).
4. DRMed digital properties are a horrible idea, because they let these sorts of draconian actions take place with such impact. You don't really own that book, that movie, that song, as long as you rely on a vendor to accept and authenticate your license to used it each time you decide to. This isn't just an Amazon issue, but, yes, it is an issue that includes Amazon.
(Ironically, Amazon sells MP3 music tracks that don't have DRM. Unlike their books.)
This is why many people take extra steps to strip the DRM off the books they buy from Amazon. Or only buy books for their Kindle from third party vendors who don't include DRM. Or download pirated ebooks. Because they don't like the idea that their library is dependent on Amazon staying in business, supporting those devices (forever), or not mistaking them for Bad Actors.
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Outlawed by Amazon DRM « Martin Bekkelund
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I was looking at this earlier, and two things have come to mind…
First, I wouldn't be giving up after a couple of emails. I would be digging up the names of the executive staff, the board members, etc, until I received a real answer.
Second, I assume that this customer was not actually guilty of anything, but I have no idea. For all I know, this person was a habitual scammer, and they were fishing for more information about how to circumvent being caught in the future. (I know, not very plausible, but having worked in the fraud detection department in my company before, you would be amazed at what people try to get away with).
I agree that pursuing with others in the company makes sense (esp. since she was getting notes from someone at amazon.co.uk, and her account was on amazon.com).
On the other hand, publicity from this story going public might be even more productive.
And, yeah, I mentioned the possibility that the protagonist isn't as innocent as it seems. On the other hand, if not, it seems kind of dumb to draw so much attention to herself.
An additional note: one advantage that someone would have who stripped the DRM off of Kindle files into a program like Calibre is that even if the machine was wiped, the files would remain on their PC for use on another ereader. They would be a possession, rather than just a de facto loan.
(Ironically, Amazon sells MP3 music tracks that don't have DRM. Unlike their books.)
Which is why I have bought MP3s through Amazon, but not ebooks. Probably won't buy any ebooks for the foreseeable future.
…but isn't stripping the DRM considered a breach of license agreement, and put one at risk of having a Kindle "bricked"?
Hmm… a lot to think about.
Probably. (I've not read the Kindle's TOS as I don't own one) It's definitely illegal to strip DRM, but that doesn't stop people from doing it.
+Laura Klein, you are correct, so the hypothetical person doing that would need to consider the risk vs. reward. The number of Kindles being bricked seems pretty low at present.
Of course, should that happen, that hypothetical person would still have files in Calibre, for use with an alternative reader.
Apparently, Amazon has (with no explanation) backed down: http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=no&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=no&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nrk.no%2Fkultur-og-underholdning%2F1.8368487&act=url