Feds withdraw subpoena requesting Amazon customer ID

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Federal prosecutors have withdrawn a subpoena seeking the identities of thousands of people who bought used books through online retailer Amazon.com Inc., newly unsealed court records show.

(Full article)

Why would prosecutors need any type of information about online buyers in this case? All the evidence they need is right there, between Mr. D'Angelo and Amazon. Do not online merchants know who they sell and ship to? I'm not familiar with the amazon merchant business but surely there must be a system for merchants to record or track their sales and another system on Amazon's side to confirm these orders. Receipts and confirmations associated with the merchant seem like sufficient amounts of evidence for this type of case. Why would buyers' identity come into play here? Unless, this used book business was a cover for something else and the buyers may actually be conspirators of some sort. If this is the case, then prosecutors should have some evidence to back these claims and investigate the buyers individually. I don't think the fed would roll over so easily if they actually had a case against these buyers and Amazon probably wouldn't be so reluctant to hand over info if the case was that strong.


[edit on 28-11-2007 by me.b4ck]

They will read your dreams and paint your picture with sand not of this world.
If not outright, they will find a way to peer into your soul, as only one can do.
Make ready your stand, good children, for your thoughts and dreams be not
Effete; instead find them full, and driven, and rightly seen by all in due course.

Thank you for posting this, I heard about this on INN news on Free speech or Link tv and had been looking for a link to this story but could not find one.

I ordered used books from amazon.com and can't figure out why the feds think they have a right to know this or cares. Anyone can set up an account to sell books or anything else used on amazon.com. I am all of the time seeing the question about re selling my purchased items on their website.

I am so glad that amazon.com refused to turn over the list of names of their customers unlike so many other companies that just turned information on their customers over to the government without question.

We are all being treated like potential felons and seen as suspects by our own government instead of citizens and that is the problem.





[edit on 1-12-2007 by goose]