Amazon Kindle removes download feature of purchased books: Difference between revisions

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 '''If books cannot be purchased from the Kindle store and downloaded, there is no way to get them onto these devices.'''
-==== Removal of USB Book Transfers (February 26, 2025) ====
 * Users will '''no longer be able to download Kindle books to a computer''' for manual transfer to their device via USB.
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 * Users who backed up their Kindle books before the '''February 26, 2025''' cutoff can still manually transfer them via USB.
-==== Conclusion ====
+==== What this means for old Kindle users ====
 With the '''loss of Whispernet access''' due to '''3G shutdowns''' and the upcoming removal of '''USB transfers for Amazon-purchased books''', the '''Kindle 1 and Kindle 2 will no longer be able to receive new Kindle Store purchases''' unless a workaround is found. Owners of these devices may need to rely on '''third-party eBook sources''' and '''manual file transfers''' to continue using them.
+==Censorship & Content Replacement==
+Censorship of literature now involves the **alteration of existing works** to make them amenable to political correctness. One recent example is the **editing of Roald Dahl's books** to remove language deemed offensive or outdated, that did not align with the original author's intentions. As stated by Matthew Dennison, a biographer of the late author,
+<blockquote>When it came to children’s books, Dennison says Dahl didn’t care what adults thought as long as his target readers were happy. “‘I don’t give a b----r what grown-ups think,’ was a characteristic statement,” Dennison says. “And I’m almost certain that he would have recognised that alterations to his novels prompted by the political climate were driven by adults rather than children, and this always inspired derision, if not contempt, in Dahl.
+“He never, for example, had any truck with librarians who criticised his books as too frightening, lacking moral role models, negative in their portrayal of women, etc,” he continues. “Dahl wrote stories intended to kindle in children a lifelong love of reading and to remind them of the childhood wonderlands of magic and enchantment, aims in which he succeeded triumphantly. Adult anxieties about political niceties didn’t register in this outlook. This said, although Dahl could be unabashed in offending adults, he took pains never to alienate or make unhappy his child readers.”</blockquote><ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/02/17/roald-dahl-books-rewritten-offensive-matilda-witches-twits/ The Telegraph - "The Hundreds of Changes Made to Suit a New ‘Sensitive’ Generation"]</ref>
+In February 2023, Amazon and Puffin were caught automatically updating previously purchased Roald Dahl e-books with new "sanitized" versions that contained hundreds of changes to the original text. Users who had purchased the e-books before the changes were implemented found their copies automatically replaced with the edited versions, without being given a choice or notification beyond the updates themselves.<ref name="times1">https://www.thetimes.com/article/roald-dahl-collection-books-changes-text-puffin-uk-2023-rm2622vl0</ref>
+The changes included numerous alterations to the original text, such as:
+* Replacing "fat" with "enormous" in describing Augustus Gloop
+* Removing Miss Trunchbull's "great horsey face" description to just "face"
+* Changing "You must be mad, woman" to "you must be out of your mind"
+* Modifying character occupations (e.g., changing a woman "working as a cashier" to "working as a top scientist")
+* Removing references to certain authors (e.g., replacing Joseph Conrad with Jane Austen in Matilda)<ref>https://www.thetimes.com/article/sensitivity-readers-are-twits-to-mess-with-the-magic-of-roald-dahl-zxk928mdz</ref>
+More changes:
+* **Gender-neutral language** – ''Cloud-Men'' in ''James and the Giant Peach'' were renamed **"Cloud-People."**
+* **Removal of references to physical appearance** – The **"fat little brown mouse"** in ''The Witches'' became simply **"little brown mouse."**
+* **Sanitization of language** – ''The Witches'' originally stated: **"You must be mad, woman!"** This was softened to **"You must be out of your mind!"**
+* **Cultural adjustments** – In ''Matilda'', a reference to **Rudyard Kipling** was replaced with **Jane Austen**. <ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/02/17/roald-dahl-books-rewritten-offensive-matilda-witches-twits/ The Telegraph - "The Hundreds of Changes Made to Suit a New ‘Sensitive’ Generation"]</ref>
+Clarissa Aykroyd, a children's publishing professional, described the automatic updates as feeling "Orwellian," saying she assumed users would be given the option on whether to download the original version or the newly sanitized versions given how significant the changes were. The forced updates led her to become "weary of ebooks."<ref name="times1" />
+After lots of backlash, Puffin announced it would publish the classic collection of 17 Dahl texts alongside the edited versions. Puffin acknowledged "very real questions around how stories can be kept relevant for new generations" while giving readers "the choice to decide how they experience Roald Dahl's magical, marvelous stories."<ref name="times1" />
+=== Examples of Censorship ===
+=== Roald Dahl Book Edits ===
+In 2023, The Telegraph reported that **hundreds of changes** were made to Roald Dahl’s classic children's books, including ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'', ''Matilda'', and ''The Witches''.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/02/17/roald-dahl-books-rewritten-offensive-matilda-witches-twits/ The Telegraph - "The Hundreds of Changes Made to Suit a New ‘Sensitive’ Generation"]</ref> These edits were performed by the publisher Puffin in collaboration with a group called **Inclusive Minds**, with the stated goal of ensuring the books "can continue to be enjoyed by all today."
+=== Debate Over Modern Censorship ===
+These edits have sparked **widespread debate** over whether such changes are **necessary updates or excessive censorship**. Critics argue that altering the original language distorts an author's intent and removes historical context. Others support the revisions, claiming they make the books more accessible to modern audiences.
+This example of **posthumous editing of literature** reflects a broader trend of **corporate-controlled content revision**, where publishers, rather than readers, decide what is deemed acceptable.
+== See Also ==
+* [[Digital Content Control]]
+* [[Corporate Censorship]]
+* [[Ownership of Digital Goods]]
+==Issue Conclusion==
+This incident highlights the larger issue of content ownership and censorship:
+* Ability of publishers to modify purchased content without user consent.
+* Ability of publishers to remove purchased content without user consent
+* e-book platforms can be used to retroactively alter literary works, erasing  historical context and the artist's original intent.
+* Ability of content providers to disable perfectly functioning devices from being usable post-sale.
+==References==
+{{reflist}}
+[[Category:Digital rights management]]
+[[Category:E-books]]
+[[Category:Content modification]]
 ==References==