Amazon censoring books with "adult content"? Feels like the 1950s... Amazon's decision last weekend to make their website more "family friendly" can be described as nothing less than a complete balls-up.
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Amazon's decision last weekend to make their website more "family friendly" can be described as nothing less than a complete balls-up. The retail website has applied a filtering system, which means that any novel seen as containing "adult material" loses its sales rank, and therefore does not appear in some searches and best-seller lists. However, a "glitch" (technical term for "massive screw-up") has meant that some well known authors' works have been included in this filter, including Annie Proulx's "Brokeback Mountain" and DH Lawrence's "Lady Chatterley's Lover".
"Glitch my ass" screamed outraged Twitter and Facebook users. "It's as if Amazon said 'An idea! Let's get rid of all the queers and perverts!!!' and then reset all their search algorithms" tweeted Zoe Margolis, author of "Girl with a One Track Mind". The internet is buzzing with complaints, and I can understand why, Amazon should never have implemented a filter unless they were sure it actually worked.
Yet, whilst conspiracy theories are being thought up about fascist aliens taking over Amazon, surely the main issue is why does the site suddenly want to become more "family friendly"? The decision seems completely unexplained, with Amazon merely commenting that it was "in consideration of our entire customer base". Of course, mummies don't want their precious ten year olds buying a pornographic book, but I find ordering stuff off Amazon highly confusing, and I'm twenty-one. Just because a sex book comes up in a best-seller list, doesn't mean a kid is going to buy it. For a start, they'd need to be in possession of a credit or debit card, and then they'd need to manoeuvre their way through the complicated personal details bit. In any case, what fifteen year old boy would pay for porn when he could get it free off the internet? Sarcastic comments aside, bookshops don't have these "adult content" filters, so why does Amazon need one?
Even if Amazon does fix its little "glitch", it is unclear what their filter system will regard as "un-family friendly". Some of the best novels ever written contain scenes of a highly sexual nature, but should they be hidden away from young eyes? Personally, I'd much rather children were introduced to the big bad world of sex through well-written literature, than through Playboy.
The internet has increased the accessibility of pornography to an already highly-sexed up world, meaning that Amazon's vague attempt to protect children is completely futile. All it has done is annoyed a lot of people, and given bloggers something else to rant about.