NC pushing to get private information on Amazon customers...

[cynatnite]

snip:
In fact, the state of North Carolina has been trying to do just that. It's been on a disturbing campaign to force Amazon.com to give it detailed records on which First Amendment–protected products its residents have bought online. Last week, a federal court said no in an important win for online-privacy rights — but more remains to be done.

The court case stems from a war over sales taxes between North Carolina and Amazon. The North Carolina tax department says Amazon failed to collect sales taxes on about 50 million transactions with North Carolinians between 2003 and early 2010. As part of a tax audit, North Carolina asked the e-commerce giant to provide, for that time period, "all information for all sales to customers with a North Carolina shipping address."

Amazon partially complied, turning over a lot of records, but it held back data that would allow the state to connect individual customers with the specific items they purchased. North Carolina came back with a demand for more and different data, and Amazon sued in federal court in Washington State, arguing that the state's demands violate the First Amendment and privacy laws. The federal district court rightly ruled that North Carolina's actions violated the First Amendment as well as certain provisions of the Video Privacy Protection Act, the 1988 law that prevents unauthorized disclosure of video-sale records. The court warned that if North Carolina were able to get individualized information about Amazon customers, it would have a chilling effect on their decisions about what to buy.

After all, people purchase lots of things from Amazon that they may not want the government to know about. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which joined the lawsuit on behalf of individual Amazon customers, gave some examples: books that criticize the government or powerful elected officials; books that could reveal personal information about the buyer, with titles like Bipolar Disorder: A Guide for Patients and Families or Outing Yourself: How to Come Out as Lesbian or Gay to Your Family, Friends, and Coworkers; and products that may convey controversial or personal information about the buyer, such as Confederate flags, rainbow flags, condoms or sex toys.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2029166,00.html