Online retail giant Amazon is being sued by a high school student who claims the company deleted his homework when it wiped a digital copy of George Orwell’s 1984 on his Kindle device.
The company recently deleted copies of George Orwell novels 1984 and Animal Farm on users’ Kindles, after it discovered the specific versions of the books were not authorised. An outcry occurred over the internet, with several users claiming the company stepped beyond its authority in deleting the books without permission.
Justin D. Gawronski said not only was his book deleted, but all of his notes that he required for school work were gone as well. He claims in his lawsuit that Amazon did not have the right to delete the book from his device.
“The capability for Amazon to remotely delete purchased items is material in a consumer’s decision to buy Kindles or e-books through the Kindle Store,” the lawsuit claims. “The value of Kindles and reading materials purchased through the Kindle Store are significantly diminished by Amazon’s ability to remotely delete digital content, including e-books, magazines and newspapers.”
The lawsuit also states that all of the notes he made on the book “were rendered useless because they no longer referenced the relevant parts of the book”.
Gawronski is seeking “all damages caused by [Amazon’s] conduct”.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
