In the interests of keeping the Wikileaks Cables available for all, regardless of whether the official website is taken offline, an enterprising Amazon trader has taken the 5000 Cables and is now selling them on the popular online retailer, making them available via the UK Kindle book store.
Currently, the Cables are rated at one star (out of five) as passionate Amazon users voice their displeasure at the confidential documents being made available on the website.
Users are angry at the seller for charging a fee for what should be free information but also because of Amazon’s stance when deciding to remove the hosting of the whistleblowing website. It is not clear whether Amazon will allow the book to remain available on its store, it was only recently that the company came in for criticism for allowing the book “A Pedophiles Guide“, a book that graphically described methods by which a pedophile could keep safe.
Amazon soon removed the book but not before a 10,000 person strong Facebook group calling for the boycott of Amazon and its child company Zappos was created.
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Amazon reviewer Christoph Weiss comments:
1) selling the free information Wikileaks provided is highly unethical by the creator of this ebook
2) amazon.com kicked wikileaks from their server. for them to make money with this ebook is the straw that breaks the camels back: I will NEVER again buy ANYTHING on amazon.
IndignantCustomer also notes:
According to wikipedia, when Amazon ceased hosting wikileaks it rationalized the decision by saying wikileaks was “securing and storing large quantities of data that isn’t rightfully theirs, and publishing this data without ensuring it won’t injure others.” Amazon should consider the impropriety of profiting off of material and a cause that it wouldn’t host.
You can read the rest of the comments, here.
We are sure the comments will continue to roll in, until Amazon kills the page itself. What are your thoughts? Do you believe someone should make money off the back of the leaked Cables or do you think its a good idea people can download them to their Kindle?
Let us know in the comments.
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