CNN Money reports that Amazon went to court to fight a subpoena demanding the names of thousands of used book buyers as part of a fraud and tax crime case against a man named Robert D'Angelo.
"The subpoena is troubling because it permits the government to peek into the reading habits of specific individuals without their knowledge or permission," [U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen] Crocker wrote. "It is an unsettling and un-American scenario to envision federal agents nosing through the reading lists of law-abiding citizens while hunting for evidence against somebody else.
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"If the government had been more diligent in looking for workarounds instead of baring its teeth when Amazon balked, it's probable that this entire First Amendment showdown could have been avoided," he wrote."
