20032012 20.52.56 http.//www.gnu.org/phIIosophy/thedangeroIebooks.

htmI
joIn our maIIIng IIst about the dangers oI eooks.
SkIp transIatIons IIst
The Danger of E-Boos
n an age where busIness
domInates our governments
and wrItes our Iaws, every
technoIogIcaI advance oIIers
busIness an opportunIty to
Impose new restrIctIons on the pubIIc. TechnoIogIes that couId have empowered us are
used to chaIn us Instead.
WIth prInted books,
You can buy one wIth cash, anonymousIy.
Then you own It.
You are not requIred to sIgn a IIcense that restrIcts your use oI It.
The Iormat Is known, and no proprIetary technoIogy Is needed to read the book.
You can gIve, Iend or seII the book to another.
You can, physIcaIIy, scan and copy the book, and It's sometImes IawIuI under
copyrIght.
obody has the power to destroy your book.
Contrast that wIth Amazon ebooks (IaIrIy typIcaI).
Amazon requIres users to IdentIIy themseIves to get an ebook.
n some countrIes, IncIudIng the !S, Amazon says the user cannot own the ebook.
Amazon requIres the user to accept a restrIctIve IIcense on use oI the ebook.
The Iormat Is secret, and onIy proprIetary userrestrIctIng soItware can read It at
aII.
An ersatz "IendIng" Is aIIowed Ior some books, Ior a IImIted tIme, but onIy by
specIIyIng by name another user oI the same system. o gIvIng or seIIIng.
To copy the ebook Is ImpossIbIe due to IgItaI IestrIctIons Management In the
pIayer and prohIbIted by the IIcense, whIch Is more restrIctIve than copyrIght Iaw.
Amazon can remoteIy deIete the ebook usIng a back door. t used thIs back door In
2009 to deIete thousands oI copIes oI George OrweII's 1984.
ven one oI these InIrIngements makes ebooks a step backward Irom prInted books. We
must reject ebooks untII they respect our Ireedom.
The ebook companIes say denyIng our tradItIonaI Ireedoms Is necessary to contInue to
pay authors. The current copyrIght system supports those companIes handsomeIy and
most authors badIy. We can support authors better In other ways that don't requIre
curtaIIIng our Ireedom, and even IegaIIze sharIng. Two methods 've suggested are.
To dIstrIbute tax Iunds to authors based on the cube root oI each author's
popuIarIty. See http.//staIIman.org/artIcIes/InternetsharIngIIcense.en.htmI.
To desIgn pIayers so users can send authors anonymous voIuntary payments.
books need not attack our Ireedom (Iroject Gutenberg's ebooks don't), but they wIII II
companIes get to decIde. t's up to us to stop them.
joIn the IIght. sIgn up at http.//eIectIveyesIgn.org/ebooks.htmI.
20032012 20.52.56 http.//www.gnu.org/phIIosophy/thedangeroIebooks.htmI
joIn the IIght. sIgn up at http.//eIectIveyesIgn.org/ebooks.htmI.