Amazon is reversing a ban on a book that is critical of transgender ideology and will now allow the work to be sold nearly four years after it was removed from the platform.
In a statement posted Tuesday about Ryan T. Anderson’s book When Harry Became Sally, the online retailer “concluded that we erred on the side of being too restrictive last time, and decided to return the book to our store.”
In February 2021, Amazon banned the sale of Anderson’s 2018 book because of its critical views on transgenderism and policies.
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“A few years ago, we removed ‘When Harry Became Sally’ from our store after concluding that it violated our guideline prohibiting books that promote hate speech,” the company said.
“The combination of our peer retailers continuing to sell the book and the ongoing feedback made us re-examine our decision. As was the case when we reviewed the book a few years ago, it was not an easy decision.”
Amazon said balancing “free speech and content that could be construed as hate speech is one of the most difficult adjudication decisions we make as a company.”
Anderson, a former research fellow with the conservative public policy think tank Heritage Foundation who now serves as the president of the right-leaning Ethics and Public Policy Center, posted to his X account on Wednesday that he is happy to see the change. He is “grateful to all my friends and allies who pushed for this to happen.”
After Amazon removed the book from the website in 2021, Amazon Vice President for Public Policy Brian Huseman stated in a letter to members of U.S. Congress that his company chose “not to sell books that frame LGBTQ+ identity as a mental illness.”
“As a bookseller, we provide our customers with access to a variety of viewpoints, including books that some customers may find objectionable,” wrote Huseman at the time. “That said, we reserve the right not to sell certain content. All retailers make decisions about what selection they choose to offer, as do we.”
In a statement at the time, Anderson denied that his book “said or framed LGBTQ+ identity as a mental illness,” adding that “Amazon’s delisting of it cuts off vital political and cultural discussion about important matters when we need it most.”
“The timing of Amazon’s move is highly suspicious, coming the weekend before Congress voted on a radical transgender bill — the so-called ‘Equality Act’ — of which I am one of the most outspoken critics,” he continued.
“It seems that Amazon is using its massive power to distort the marketplace of ideas and is deceiving its own customers.”
