ABFFE Condemns Hacker Attacks on Online Bookseller

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression has condemned efforts by computer hackers to disrupt the operations of online bookseller Abunga.com.

Abunga.com, which advertises itself as a bookseller that "promotes decency" by refusing to sell "pornography" and other "illicit material," has come under hacker attack for discontinuing sales of Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass, a title some religious groups have labeled as "anti-Christian."

Abunga.com has reported that hackers have attempted to disrupt the operation of its website through hundred of attacks, including some that tried to block access to the books on the site.

"People have a right to disagree with the book selection policy of Abunga.com," ABFFE President Chris Finan said. "They have a right to protest that policy. But they do not have a right to try to stop the bookstore from doing business. That is an act of censorship."

Finan said that ABFFE believes that booksellers should offer a wide range of books. But he added that booksellers have a right to decide what books they will sell. If people don't like the policy of a particular store, they can shop elsewhere. "The First Amendment protects our freedom to choose, and that right applies to booksellers no less than to the public," Finan concluded.