Amazon defends sale of How to Book on Pedophilia.

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's Leslie Morgan:

I was on Tech Crunch as I am every afternoon researching potential stories, fun new gadgetry etc when I came across this post:

http://techcrunch.com/2010/11/10/amazon-defends-pedophile-how-to-guide/

The gist of the article is as follows:  Amazon is selling a book titled, "The Pedophiles Guide to Love and Pleasure." Yes folks it is essentially a how to guide on how to molest children and Amazon is selling it.  This literally was the look on my face after reading the article:

Now I am not going to post exerpts here of the book.  You can click on the link above and read them if you so desire. Also by me even writing this article I am giving unnecessary press to something that I personally find to be morally offensive.  However, what struck me, beyond the content was the amount of comments the article generated.  The comments that kept coming up over and over were about the fact that Amazon has the right to sell this book because of freedom of speech.  Amazon is quoted, "Amazon believes it is censorship not to sell certain books simply because we or others believe their message is objectionable. Amazon does not support or promote hatred or criminal acts, however, we do support the right of every individual to make their own purchasing decisions.”

Now Amazon's own policy states that it will prohibit content that includes “offensive material,” as well as content that “may lead to the production of an illegal item or illegal activity.”  Who at Amazon determines whether something is offensive and would the content incite illegal activity?  I mean if you are a pedophile will you go, run out and buy this book and then commit heinous acts on children.  You probably would do that with or without this book.  More to the point if someone who is not a pedophile goes out and buys this book, will they then commit heinous acts on children?  Doubtful?

For me Amazon's choice to sell this book is their choice as a business.  I can't do anything, but write them a letter about how I feel and I can choose to not buy anymore Amazon products ever and I can also tell all my friends and ask that they boycott Amazon and never purchase their products again as well.  That's my right just like it is Amazon's right to sell something if they want to.  Someone made the point that if Amazon CHOSE not to sell that book they would be infringing on Freedom of Speech, but that's where I disagree.  Amazon is a business and as a business it is their choice what they sell and don't sell.  I think their argument of we believe it is censorship is frankly bs.  It's a business decision pure and simple.  The book does not contain pictures of these acts nor does it contain pictures of children.  Amazon's decision has nothing to do with right and wrong or good vs. evil.  Amazon wants to make money as a business and therefore they are going to sell products whether they are objectionable to some or not.  However, if enough people made a dent in Amazon's monetary bottom line by deciding never to shop at Amazon again due to their choice of selling this book I would take bets on how fast they would decide that it was in their best interest as a business to no longer distribute something that the majority of people found to be offensive.  It comes down to the almighty dollar folks pure and simple.  Just like it's Wal-Marts choice to not sell 50 Cents' latest record.  It isn't censoring the artist, you can buy 50 Cents' record at a variety of different places all over the world, but to say Wal-mart is infringing on Freedom of Speech isn't the case.

However, where's the line?  Could Amazon distribute a book on how to blow up a plane?  How to create a meth lab in your kitchen? How about how to kill the governor of the state of Georgia or better yet the president? Now with the later there is sedition to consider, but all of these are illegal.  I am curious from a legal perspective the answer to this.

In any case Amazon made a choice as a business and as a consumer I am making mine!  I will not buy the book nor do I want to promote or purchase anything from Amazon for the time being.  That's my freedom of choice as a consumer.  

I am curious  where do you stand on this? 

For more comments and shenanigans follow me on Twitter: @morganglory

@PeteCashmore responds to #TechCrunch deal

Petey Pete Pete has a blog outside of Mashable. Is it too nerdy that I knew that ... cause I did ... and either way, it's pretty bitchin.

Check out Pete's thoughts on AOL's acquisition of TechCrunch:

Swinging for the Fences

TechCrunch getting acquired by AOL is pretty interesting to me.  I mailed the team earlier today to congratulate them on their accomplishment, but I thought I’d blog a few thoughts too.

I’m excited about the deal.  It’s a huge validation for our industry that cements my convictions: Blogging creates real value.  It makes an impact on people’s lives.  I’m glad AOL understands and rewards that value creation.

But I’m excited in general right now.  

Mashable is on a tear.  We just opened a new HQ in NYC — suddenly we have an entire floor to ourselves.  That’s in addition to our SF office and team members across the US and Europe.  There’s more than 30 of us, and growing.  

At 9.7 million uniques/month, we’re the leader in our space.

Yet the office itself is half-empty.  We have a lot of desks to fill.  Fortunately we have a stream of talented journalism grads and media veterans stepping forward to join the charge. 

That’s how I feel about the market, too.  Lots of empty seats.  Limitless untapped potential.  We’re large by the standards of a blog.  But by mainstream media standards?  Tiny.  It’s a gap we plan to close — and do so under our own steam.

Who’s left to swing for the fences?  Who’s going to achieve the escape velocity required to reach beyond our insular technology community and build a truly mainstream publication? 

We’re not tired in the slightest.  We have the youthful naivety to believe we can go mainstream — and the stamina to achieve it.

I love, love, love, it. I was curious to read this. I wasn't sure what the folks over at Mashable thought about the deal. Like I said in an earlier post, I don't even put Mashable and Techcrunch in the same field. To me, they appease different desires for my tech knowledge. Mashable is definitely still my default, as I trust their information regarding social media more ... and I don't know, its just loyalty I guess. Honestly, no BS aside, it really didn't occur to me that Mashable would even need to respond to this. Even if it was just Pete, and Unmashed as he likes to call it ... Mehhhhhhh! Congrats TechCrunch, and yes I agree with Pete, this bodes well for the industry as a hole. Keep it up!!!

Click here to read Pete's Blog