Amazon: Feds Want Book Buying Records

Amazon: Feds Want Book Buying Records

www.newstarget.com

Newly unsealed court records have revealed that the U.S. government issued a subpoena to Amazon.com seeking to obtain the identities of customers purchasing books through the Amazon marketplace. The snooping attempt was blocked by U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Crocker who wrote in a recently-unsealed ruling, "Well-founded or not, rumors of an Orwellian federal criminal investigation into the reading habits of Amazon's customers could frighten countless potential customers into canceling planned online book purchases."

(visit the link for the full news article)

Not the books now too ?

www.newstarget.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Welcome to police state, my friend.

There is no end to what "they" want to know. Knowledge is power, and those who rule want to have every bit of personal data they can ever want, available at any time.

It was blocked this time, but that is no assurance that the next time will not get "them" what they desire. This is the reason that a change of attitude and direction in government is so badly needed.

[edit on 10-12-2007 by NGC2736]

I stopped reading when it called the United States "Amerika."

The sad thing is that \" people \" do not care about such things .

One has to wonder will \" people \" start to care about such matters before its to late to care ?

Heres a link to the same story as covered by CNN Money money.cnn.com...

At least CNN knows how to spell AmeriCa.

They were not seeking to look at records of EVERYONE. So, nope. Im not worried about anything, to be honest.

Federal prosecutors issued the subpoena last year as part of a grand jury investigation into a former Madison official who was a prolific seller of used books on Amazon.com. They were looking for buyers who could be witnesses in the case.

The official, Robert D'Angelo, was indicted last month on fraud, money laundering and tax evasion charges. Prosecutors said he ran a used book business out of his city office and did not report the income. He has pleaded not guilty.

D'Angelo sold books through the Amazon Marketplace feature, and buyers paid Amazon, which took a commission.

"We didn't care about the content of what anybody read. We just wanted to know what these business transactions were," prosecutor Vaudreuil said Tuesday. "These were simply business records we were seeking to prove the case of fraud and tax crimes against Mr. D'Angelo."

reply to post by greeneyedleo


Yes, but it is in small steps that freedom is removed. That is what makes it so easy for most people to accept. If/when the government starts a mandatory "chipping" program, it will be for sexual predators or some such, and everyone will love the idea. Next will come the mentally ill and then another group and another. Power doesn't stop gathering more power, and sooner or later it will be your turn.

Honestly, whether this is true or not is of little importance to me. What would be a surprise to me is if the government didn't ALREADY have such information...