Advocacy

Late last week, 10 of the 19 named class plaintiffs representing the class of all merchants announced their opposition to the proposed $7.25 billion settlement of a federal antitrust lawsuit over skyrocketing Visa and MasterCard credit card swipe fees.

A coalition of eight Massachusetts mayors have written to Gov. Deval Patrick to urge him to require that Amazon.com collect and remit sales tax for purchases made by Massachusetts residents prior to the holiday shopping season.

Award-winning broadcast journalist Bill Moyers discusses book banning and the harms of censorship in a new video essay commemorating the 30th anniversary of Banned Books Week (September 30 – October 6).

This op-ed column by Chris Finan, president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, and Joan Bertin, executive director of the National Coalition Against Censorship, appeared in the September 23 edition of Louisville, Kentucky’s The Courier-Journal.

As the U.S. Congress headed back to work in September following its August recess, sales tax fairness once again became a hot topic. Along with myriad reports that Amazon.com finally began collecting sales tax for online sales in Pennsylvania and California, a number of newspapers nationwide published op-eds and editorials calling on Congress to pass sales tax fairness legislation. Here’s a look at a few editorials of note.

Award-winning broadcast journalist Bill Moyers and Judith Davidson Moyers, president of Public Affairs Television, have been named honorary co-chairs of Banned Books Week (September 30 – October 6).

Individuals, bookstores, and libraries are demonstrating their support for free speech by uploading three-minute videos — either a reading from a challenged book or a description of a local censorship fight — to a special channel on YouTube as part of this month’s 30th anniversary celebration of Banned Books Week.

Beginning this Saturday, California consumers who shop at Amazon.com will notice a big change when they go to the checkout page to pay for their orders: the online retailer will be collecting sales tax on their orders.

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression has issued a final call for support of the 30^th anniversary of Banned Books Week, September 30 - October 6.

This afternoon, New York Federal Judge Denise Cote issued an order entering as a final judgment the DOJ’s proposed settlement agreement with Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster in the e-books antitrust litigation. This means that the three settling publishers are required to terminate all of their agency agreements and any agreement that restricts an e-book retailer’s discretion over pricing as soon as allowed under contract, typically, on 30 days’ notice.

ABFFE has released a new video urging bookstores to join the national read-out from banned books that will be featured on YouTube during Banned Books Week, from September 30 to October 6.

On Wednesday, August 22, the Department of Justice filed a reply memorandum with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in which it dismissed arguments made in the latest round of filings regarding the proposed e-book pricing settlement with Hachette, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster.

Trouble often arrives out of a clear blue sky, even during the lazy days of August. For three booksellers, trouble recently arrived in the form of First Amendent emergencies. ABFFE President Chris Finan explains how each dealt with the unexpected.

The push for sales tax fairness in California and Pennsylvania, which came to a head in 2011, will bear fruit next month.

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression is providing a variety of tools for booksellers who want to join in the celebration of the freedom to read during Banned Books Week, from September 30 - October 6.