Digital Ownership Isn’t Always What You Think
The Reader’s Edge | Charlie Samways | April 19, 2026
In 2009, Amazon remotely deleted copies of George Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm from customers' Kindles without warning, after a rights dispute. The books had been purchased. They were simply gone.
That story is circulating again this week, prompted by Amazon's announcement that Kindles released in 2012 and earlier will lose access to the Amazon ecosystem entirely. For early adopters, it's a direct loss. For everyone else, it's a question worth sitting with: what do you actually own when you buy a digital book?
Despite these previous issues, in 2026, there is still uncertainty over what digital ownership actually means. Even recent legal rulings, as close as 2024, have struggled to determine whether “buy” on digital storefronts is a misleading term.
Because of this uncertainty, it’s worth making the philosophical distinction between access and ownership. Access is conditional, depending on the solvency of the seller, their ability to maintain services, and choosing not to change their terms. Ownership is unconditional, so a physical book purchased in 1995 will still be readable in 2045 regardless of what the seller decides.
Most digital purchases today would be classed as access, and this model has real benefits: lower upfront cost, no physical storage, instant availability anywhere, and the ability to carry thousands of books on one device. Kindle Unlimited is only possible under a licence model. These are not trivial advantages.
In 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, Yuval Noah Harari captures the change that we are witnessing in how ownership is shifting in the digital landscape. Harari's argument is that humans have always defined themselves by the things they own, but in the 21st century, the things we think we own increasingly belong to the platforms that let us access them.
The Ownership Gap
Legal scholar Aaron Perzanowski, who co-wrote The End of Ownership, has argued there is an “ownership gap” created by the growth of digital markets. This is the distance between what customers believe they’re buying and what they are actually receiving.
Perzanowski’s research suggests that the majority of consumers who click “buy now” on digital content actually believe that they own it in the same way as a physical copy. This is despite the terms of service, which almost nobody reads, telling a different story.
This gap has consequences beyond e-books.
In 2024, Ubisoft shut down The Crew, a video game players had purchased outright, making it permanently unplayable. Sony has removed films from users' libraries when licensing agreements expired. The pattern is consistent across the industry.
If you're anything like me, most of your media is consumed through subscriptions and digital purchases, and I don't think that needs to change. The point isn't to alarm. The power you hold is knowing what you're actually agreeing to.
This Week’s Question
If Amazon, Kobo, or Apple shut down tomorrow, what would you actually own? Have you ever thought about it?
Reply to me at hello@charliesamways.com. I read every one.
From The Channel This Week
This week, I released a video discussing Amazon’s decision to end support for older Kindle devices, including options available to those affected. If this newsletter resonated, these are worth your time.
Amazon Just Proved You Don’t Really Own Your Kindle Books
So, when you make your next digital purchase, consider what you’re actually buying, and whether it’s the right decision for you.
Catch up next week,
Charlie Samways