ABA Offers Suggested Guidelines for Appropriate Responses to Amazon Policy

Reaction among booksellers and others in the book world to Amazon's recent delisting of certain titles with adult content remains strong, despite the company's claim that it was the result of "an embarrassing and ham-fisted cataloging error," as reported by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

To help guide members in responding to the situation in an appropriate way, ABA, in consultation with its legal counsel, is offering the following statement:

ABA LEGAL STATEMENT ON
APPROPRIATE RESPONSES TO AMAZON POLICY

The U.S. antitrust laws forbid combinations or conspiracies in restraint of trade. One form of a restraint of trade can be a group boycott. Although any company may, on its own, refuse to do business with another firm, an agreement among competitors or among members of a trade association not to do business with targeted individuals or businesses may be an illegal boycott.

It is with this understanding that ABA must view appropriate forms of response to an apparent, recent decision by Amazon.com not to offer sales ranks for gay and lesbian materials and other materials that contain sexual content. We understand that a good number of our members believe that what Amazon has reportedly been doing is improper, constitutes a form of discrimination, and may impinge upon freedom of expression. As individuals, you are free to express your opinion about Amazon's activities. And, our country's history is replete with stories of how individuals have combined to effect political and social change. As an organization, the ABA and its foundation, ABFFE, promote and protect the free exchange of ideas, by advocating First Amendment ideals and opposing restrictions on freedom of speech, including through censorship and discrimination.

As an organization, however, we believe that it could be illegal for ABA to organize, support or condone an economic boycott of Amazon. Accordingly, it would be inappropriate for any ABA member to suggest or imply that the ABA holds a position other than this.

You, as individuals, are certainly able to make whatever unilateral decisions you feel are appropriate, and we encourage you to do so. As individuals, you may also wish to support political groups that seek to ensure equal protection of all persons and/or to ensure freedom of expression. You can also use this situation as a marketing opportunity to promote the differences and the diversity of ideas available at independent, locally owned businesses compared with large, corporately owned chain retail establishments.

However, we would not recommend that you engage in either of the following activities without a specific legal review of the proposed action: (1) that your bookstore (or an employee acting for the bookstore) join with other businesses in a coordinated response to Amazon's action; or (2) that your bookstore (or an employee acting for the bookstore) advocate a boycott of Amazon.