Since When Did Rape Become a Source of Laughter?

OK people, now I know I said I was having a break, but my old friend Amazon has been at it again.


You may remember my last campaign to Boycott Amazon in November last year, when they felt it was completely reasonable to sell an offensive how to guide to Paedophilia. 

How a Boycott of a International Company led to me on the Radio!

Yeah, so its been a mad 48 odd hours.


My last post was about the campaign to Boycott Amazon, via Facebook, blogs and Twitter. I kind of got the UK going on it, trying to throw all our weight behind the existing ~AmazonFail tweets online from the US. 


I had an email yesterday afternoon from the BBC World Service radio show "Have Your Say", who wanted to feature the international debate on the radio. Which is worldwide. And they wanted me to put the UK point across. Worldwide. 


Well, firstly I was nervous, which pretty much continued right to the end of the broadcast.


I'm writing this to kind of explain the radio thing, in case you didn't know I was doing it, and to really streamline, after the broadcast, why I feel Amazon should be boycotted and why I feel this is more than a free speech issue.


I was taken by car to High Wycombe to a tiny studio! And it was very easy to sit and listen to the others views- I had a note book with notes and made extras as people spoke.


Ross, the Presenter was great, really made me feel welcome, and told all of us (the others were in the US, and Belgium) to jump in and talk him out the conversation.


So, why do I still feel that Amazon should be boycotted? The books no longer for sale, so that's it right?


Nope.

• Firstly, whilst Amazon removed the book, they did this after the campaign really started to knock their rating- their share price dropped by 1.7%. It makes you think they didn't take it offline because they realised it was wrong to sell that book, but that they took it down due to them losing profits at what is one of the busiest times of year.
• Secondly, as I said on the radio, Amazon is happy to sign you up as a customer, email you their latest offers etc. They take your money. But when a customer, or a large number of customers, question them, they ignore all requests to comment. They hide. 
• Yes, the book itself is not illegal. It advocates illegal activity in that it tells paedophiles how to act on their urges without being caught, but in our country this is not illegal. So, that allows Amazon to sell items of this nature and allows the Freedom of speech/censorship argument to gain pace. Therefore, the Government needs to see that unfortunately we don't live in a society that practices a sense of morality and all its members agree that these kinds of books should not be in circulation, and pass a law banning any material which advocates criminal behaviour where a law banning the actual activity already exists.
• Its not just this book, there are other titles of this kind, as well as video of other illegal activities, and this questions Amazon's ability to put social factors over making money. If they are unable to properly Police their site and put their social responsibility before profit, then they should have an independent body to do this for them
• Finally, if Amazon learn one thing from this campaign, they should possibly learn that in their terms of use of hosting self published material (or otherwise) on the site all they say is that they will not host something they find offensive. There are two issues with this- its not clear cut. They really should have what they find offensive listed, set out in writing what they will and will not host and profit from on site. And whilst they said in the only statement they released prior to the book being removed that, yes, they found the book offensive but the right was there to sell the book as not everyone may find it offensive. So, if they did find it offensive, under their current terms it should never have popped up at all. By having it there, and not adding a "we do not agree with this book and will not receive money from it" it leads the consumer to feel that they do agree with its contents. Its very hard for them to hide behind such a loose terms list of "what we find offensive". MAKE IT CLEAR WHAT YOU FIND OFFENSIVE AND THEREFORE WILL NOT SELL AND WILL NOT PROFIT FROM! 

So, I for one will not be shopping at Amazon until they change their ways. Why should I help a company profit who care so little for their customers that they ignore countless efforts for them to release a statement? Where is the accountability?

So, before you shop online, think about how YOU want to be treated as a consumer. 

Boycott Amazon!

Unless you aren't on Twitter, then you can't have helped but notice that quite a now growing number of people have been joining in with my campaign to Boycott Amazon.


Why do we think this should happen?


Well, Amazon allow any writer with a few quid and a book to post it on their site in a co-operative movement whereby Amazon will sell your book and you share the profits with them.


Now, I am all for freedom of speech and expression.


But it would appear that Amazon is none to fussy over what titles they sell on site, and profit from.


The latest book called "The Pedophiles Guide to Love and Pleasure" has begun a war which I'm sure Amazon was quite unprepared for.


The book, available on Kindle, Amazons own E-Reader device, is supposedly written to show Paedophiles how to go about their depraved and not to mention illegal activities without being caught.


Er,.. hold on, seriously?


Yes, Amazon are basically profiteering from a Criminals Guide to being illegal.


This isn't the only offensive title sold by the International Internet retailer. Other topics which Amazon feels is fine to sell and profit from come from Holocaust Deniers, other sexual deviants (including other tomes for Paedophiles to peruse at their leisure) and also video of graphic dog and cock fighting too, which again is an illegal activity.


When asked, Amazon have said this doesn't contradict their terms of service- but then its hardly surprising when the terms are very loose and not definite to any form of paedophile or illegal materials. 


We have asked several times for Amazon's own incites into this, which has now been removed due to pressure, but there are other books and videos readily available. They have declined to contact me to give their side. 


The book can still be purchased though, its just the page which has been removed. 


We feel that Amazon needs to have full and comprehensive lists of terminology which, if included in a book or video, renders it banned from their site, and not just have a system in place which means they grudgingly remove a title after mass anger and threats of dwindling sales across the site.


It appears they have only removed the book before the full weight of a media storm, seen previously about the same book in the US, starts to really hit their profit margins.


I for one refuse to be a customer or otherwise of a site which profits from illegal or distasteful material, and I urge you to join me and the growing numbers voting with their mouse and deleting their accounts with Amazon- remember if you have a Blogspot Amazon Affiliate scheme membership close it down too! 


And you can let Amazon know what you think by joining the Twitter Tending topic campaign by using the #BoycottAmazon hashtag on your tweets!


You can find more on this story at
BBC Online
Mail Online
Telegraph online


And this excellent post from a US Blogger- http://alaydhien.blogspot.com/2010/11/open-letter-to-amazoncom-re-pedophiles.html