Amazon remotely deletes purchased copies of "1984" from customers' Kindles
In July 2009 Amazon remotely deleted purchased copies of George Orwell's "1984" and "Animal Farm" from customers' Kindle devices after a rights issue with the editions, refunding the purchases. Amazon apologized and later settled a lawsuit over the deletions.
- Date
- July 17, 2009
- Platform
- Kindle Store
- Refunds offered
- Yes
- Offline copy provided
- No
What happened
In July 2009, Amazon remotely deleted copies of George Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm from customers' Kindle devices. The editions had been added to the Kindle Store by a publisher that did not hold the US rights. Amazon credited customers the purchase price at deletion.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos publicly apologized, calling the handling "stupid, thoughtless, and painfully out of line with our principles." A student whose annotated copy (with homework notes) was deleted sued; Amazon settled the case in 2009 and stated it would not remove books from customers' devices in that manner in the future.
Consumer impact
- Purchases were refunded, but customer annotations and reading data attached to the deleted books were lost.
- The deletion happened without notice, on devices in customers' homes.
Why it matters
The irony of the specific title made this the most famous digital-revocation event ever — and the foundational demonstration that a "purchased" ebook is a remotely revocable license. Sixteen years on, it remains the standard opening citation in legal and journalistic writing on digital ownership, including coverage of California AB 2426.
Sources
- Amazon Erases Orwell Books From Kindle (Jul 18, 2009) — The New York Times (archived)
- Amazon vanishes 1984 from citizen Kindles (Jul 2009) — The Register (archived)