Do We Ever Really Own Our Digital Purchases?
A new policy change for Amazon Kindle users raises questions about digital ownership. By February 26, 2025, Kindle users can no longer download copies of e-books to their hard drives or remove digital rights management (DRM) to read them on non-Amazon devices.
Amazon’s motivation is obvious—keeping users locked into its ecosystem. But this change has reignited debates about what it really means to own something in a digital world.
Who Controls Your Books?
Let’s stay with books for a second.
In 2023, the American Library Association reported a record-breaking 4,240 unique book titles targeted for censorship—a 65% increase from 2022 and a 128% jump from 2021. Nearly half (47%) of these books represented LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC voices.
According to PEN America, the most banned books in the U.S. were:
📚 The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (85 bans)
📚 Sold by Patricia McCormick (85 bans)
📚 Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher (76 bans)
Book bans usually focus on physical libraries and schools. But what about digital books? If Amazon can remove a title from its store, it can also remove it from your library.
And it’s already happened.
In 2009, Amazon deleted copies of 1984 and Animal Farm from users' Kindles, citing an "erroneous publishing issue." More recently, publishers rewrote sections of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory—editing language about weight, mental health, gender, and race. While these changes may have been well-intentioned, readers weren’t given a choice. They couldn’t keep the version they paid for. Their books simply… changed.
Streaming Services Are Doing It Too
E-books aren’t the only victims of disappearing digital content. Due to licensing changes, streaming platforms have also removed purchased content from users’ libraries.
On Reddit, users report losing access to movies they bought on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and HBO Max. If a streaming service’s licensing deal expires, your movie can vanish overnight—even if you “own” it.
Ever notice how your favorite early 2010s rom-com jumps from Netflix to Hulu to Prime Video? That’s because licensing deals are temporary, even for purchased content.
The Myth of Digital Ownership
So, do we ever actually own our digital purchases?
The short answer: No.
Will this realization stop people from buying digital content? Maybe.
As a strategic product designer, I doubt many Kindle users were actually using the download feature. It was probably a power user tool, and Amazon—like Apple—wants to keep people in its walled garden.
But the real question isn’t about Amazon’s business model. It’s about our relationship with ownership.
What does it mean to “own” something in a digital world?
Do we accept that digital purchases are just rentals in disguise? Or do we still cling to the illusion of permanence?
Maybe, as digital media evolves, we’ll adapt. Maybe we’ll detach from ownership entirely.
Or maybe, we’ll fight to keep what’s ours.
The 11 Most Banned Books List 2024 - PEN America. https://pen.org/banned-books-list-2024/