Amazon Won't Host Wikileaks... But Will Sell The Leaked Cables For Your Kindle?

from the choices dept

Thu, Dec 9th 2010 11:05am — Mike Masnick

This is making the rounds on Twitter, but cc was the first to submit it here. When Amazon kicked Wikileaks off of their S3 hosting service, we noted how it had (just weeks earlier) tried to defend a pro-pedophilia book by stating:

"Amazon believes it is censorship not to sell certain books simply because we or others believe their message is objectionable."

While Amazon did cave and pull that book eventually, some suggested that perhaps this just meant that Amazon would be fine with Wikileaks if it was being sold in book form. And, apparently, someone is testing that theory, and so far it's working. You can apparently buy the Wikileaks leaked State Department cables on Amazon for your kindle, if you're so inclined. Of course, since they're available (at an ever increasing number of mirror sites) for free, there's no reason to -- but as a way of showing Amazon's hypocrisy, well, that's just priceless.

Update: Amazon's "explanation" is that the book also contains commentary. Um. What? So if the Wikileaks website also contained commentary (which I believe it does), it would be okay?

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Filed Under: censorship, ebooks, kindle, wikileaks
Companies: amazon

38 Comments

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The eejit (profile), 9 Dec 2010 @ 10:40am

lol hypocrites.
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Lisae Boucher (profile), 9 Dec 2010 @ 10:51am

Hypocrisy? Not really. Any moron can write an ebook, publish it on Amazon and earn a few dollars that way. Someone just did that with those cables, hoping some people are foolish enough to pay for something they could also get for free.
I don't think Amazon even checks what kinds of ebooks it's actually selling! At least, not until someone complains. Then their bureaucracy will start to slowly get the book removed, possibly hoping that a few more customers will still buy the book before it's gone.
Well, that pedophile book was sold quite a lot after all the negative publicity, so dropping that book immediately would probably hurt their profits even more...
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Hephaestus (profile), 9 Dec 2010 @ 11:14am

Amazon. Hypocrite Much?

I'm on a horse.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Dec 2010 @ 11:15am

No It Does Not
http://www.amazon.co.uk/WikiLeaks-documents-foreign-conspiracies-CONTAIN/dp/B004EEOLIU/ref=cm_cr_pr_ product_top/276-0969735-8890158

As stated in the title of this book - "DOES NOT CONTAIN TEXT OF CABLES"
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Dec 2010 @ 11:19am

Just remix and retell in your own words.
So it's 'fair use'?
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RikuoAmero (profile), 9 Dec 2010 @ 11:20am

It doesn't contain the cables
It's commentary and analysis, although in my opinion, I wouldn't buy it unless the author had analysed ALL 250K cables.
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Hephaestus (profile), 9 Dec 2010 @ 11:22am

Someone should suggest to the guys over at wikileaks, that they publish the entire WikiLeaks site as a multi part e-book on Amazon ...

Actually, I think I will do this tonite and donate all the proceeds to wikileaks. Wouldn't that be a kick in the ass, wikileaks goes from being charged for hosting to getting paid by Amazon ...

whats the word for that ...
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:Lobo Santo (profile), 9 Dec 2010 @ 11:25am

Re: whats the word for that...
Justice?
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Dark Helmet (profile), 9 Dec 2010 @ 11:29am

Re: Re: whats the word for that...
Hilariousness?
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Dec 2010 @ 11:30am

the minor difference between journalism and a data dump.
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Hephaestus (profile), 9 Dec 2010 @ 11:30am

Re: Re: whats the word for that...
I was thinking Irony actually. But justice is good ...
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swn, 9 Dec 2010 @ 11:31am

It is not USA government who try to police the world. The Government just does what it is instructwed to do by Elders of Zion.
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Dark Helmet (profile), 9 Dec 2010 @ 11:39am

Re:
"The Government just does what it is instructwed to do by Elders of Zion."

Bwahahahah! You're trolling, right? Please tell me that the people on this site aren't so uneducated so as not to know the twisted history of the document that term (Elders of Zion) comes from, and how false the conclusions those pushing antisemite views are about it....
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Hephaestus (profile), 9 Dec 2010 @ 11:41am

Re: Re: Re: whats the word for that...
What do you think we should call the e-book?

The official or Unofficial ...

WikiLeaks Bible, Weekly WikiLeaks, Encyclopedia WikiLeaks, ????

Does Amazon, Apple, Barne and Noble, do subscription e-magazines? Because the "Weekly WikiLeaks" actually sounds pretty good.
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Dark Helmet (profile), 9 Dec 2010 @ 11:44am

Re: Re: Re: Re: whats the word for that...
"What do you think we should call the e-book?"

How about just "Truth"....
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Andrew (profile), 9 Dec 2010 @ 11:46am

Supporting Wikileaks and showing Amazon's hypocrisy by getting the leaked cables on your Kindle? That's priceless. And for everything else, there's MasterCard.

Oh come on, someone had to say it...
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Hephaestus (profile), 9 Dec 2010 @ 11:49am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: whats the word for that...
I like it but "Truth" wouldn't get many hits search wise on Amazon, barnes and noble, or Apple.

(cover)
Truth

With Weekly Updates From
- WikiLeaks
- etc
- etc

(/cover)
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Marcus Carab (profile), 9 Dec 2010 @ 11:54am

Re:
From what I've read, the person who put the cables up was doing it to make a point not to make money
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Marcus Carab (profile), 9 Dec 2010 @ 11:55am

The book seems to have disappeared now. Anyone know what happened?
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Michial Thompson, 9 Dec 2010 @ 11:56am

WOW
"if you're so inclined. Of course, since they're available (at an ever increasing number of mirror sites) for free, there's no reason to"

WOW just how many times have I read little mikee talking about how piracy doesn't affect the music industry... And god I have no clue how many times he has sat there and stated that just because something was available for free it doesn't prevent people from paying for it...

WOW little mikee's true colors are shining on this entire wikileaks thing.... Real credibility here little mikee...
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cc (profile), 9 Dec 2010 @ 11:58am

Re: WOW
FAIL
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Marcus Carab (profile), 9 Dec 2010 @ 11:59am

Re: No It Does Not
Interesting... the link now seems to be gone. And I see what you are saying about the "DOES NOT CONTAIN" - but that's especially weird because it was definitely NOT like that when it first went up. Check out Techcrunch's screenshot from earlier today:

http://techcrunch.com/2010/12/09/wikileaks-against-amazons-tos-but-for-sale-in-the-kindle- store/

It's weird how the title still says "ALL CABLES WITH TAGS" but now the note "DOES NOT CONTAIN TEXT" has been added. And the book is gone now anyway (though it still comes up in search results)

Anyone know what's goin on?
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Marcus Carab (profile), 9 Dec 2010 @ 12:00pm

Re: WOW
Why do you keep calling him "little mikee"? Is that really your standard of debate? What are you, 12 years old?
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Gabriel Tane (profile), 9 Dec 2010 @ 12:02pm

Re: WOW
"god I have no clue"

Yes, we know.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Dec 2010 @ 12:02pm

Rational decision, if you only think part way through.
I will buy that amazon dropped their hosting of wikileaks to protect their other customers from the inevitable DDOS attacks against the site.

It does however, need to be be remembered that wikileaks WAS A CUSTOMER who should have been protected from...
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Marcus Carab (profile), 9 Dec 2010 @ 12:03pm

Re: WOW
(and for the record, this blog has never said that people will still pay for things when they are available exactly the same for free - in fact it has constantly said it's stupid to try to compete with piracy if you aren't going to offer anything else. The point has always been that free content can drive people to buy related things that add value to that content, whether something simple like a vinyl record or something wacky and elaborate like mini-golf with the band.)
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Dark Helmet (profile), 9 Dec 2010 @ 12:03pm

Re: Re: No It Does Not
Taken out by the Amazon behind the grassy knoll, most likely....
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nasch (profile), 9 Dec 2010 @ 12:15pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: whats the word for that...
WeeklyLeaks?
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nasch (profile), 9 Dec 2010 @ 12:18pm

Re: Re: WOW
He claims to be an adult who has served in the military and holds a driver's license. Scary, huh?
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SUNWARD (profile), 9 Dec 2010 @ 12:23pm

Now GONE
that was fast.

the link is now to a 404 document not found.

What happened to their explanation?
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Dec 2010 @ 12:27pm

Some ideas:

1. People should release many thousands of e-books that contain the cables, but certain sections are redacted. Find out what the cut-off point is from e-book sellers/tie up their analytical department until they give up in exasperation.

2. Release books with the title "Censor this book" or "Don't censor this book" that contain the cables as 1% of the content of the book. Amazon/borders/etc will go down in history as participatory in the act of actual censorship.(amongst the above examples given.)

3. Probably the most effective: Cancel your amazon/visa/mastercard accounts, and tell them you cancelled these accounts because of the censorship. Nothing speaks faster to a company than permanent loss of revenue.
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RD, 9 Dec 2010 @ 12:27pm

Re: Now GONE
"that was fast.

the link is now to a 404 document not found.

What happened to their explanation?"

Suppression and censorship, let alone kowtowing to Big Brother, always happen with all due haste and zero accountability.
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New Mexico Mark, 9 Dec 2010 @ 12:57pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: whats the word for that...
Call the book: Twilight - Wikigrams

"Bella receives a series of strange messages from Edward. What can they mean?"

It would get a million purchases with zero risk of the information falling into intelligent hands. Win-win.
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Dark Helmet (profile), 9 Dec 2010 @ 1:09pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: whats the word for that...
How do I mark this pants-shitting hilarious?
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techflaws.org (profile), 9 Dec 2010 @ 10:50pm

Re: WOW
And god I have no clue

Correct. You completely summed up everything there's to know about you.
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Lisae Boucher (profile), 10 Dec 2010 @ 6:13am

Re: Re:
Yet, Amazon does make a profit from this sale! And perhaps a few others too...
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Marcus Carab (profile), 10 Dec 2010 @ 11:03am

Re:
Do uh, does SWN = Single White Nazi?
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cable ties, 28 Mar 2012 @ 1:03am

cable ties
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