Judge blocks North Carolina attempt to get Amazon sales data

Judge Marsha Pechman has blocked North Carolina's Department of Revenue request for names and addresses information from Amazon for purchases by NC residents.

Although the state said it did not need or want specific item information, and that it had removed the initial Amazon database dump from its computers, it continued to hang onto the CDs holding this information. Combining that information with names and addresses would allow the state to see a person's entire seven-year Amazon purchase history. Amazon objected to the request on First Amendment grounds. It did not object to the state's request for tax information, but it refused to turn over personally identifying information so long as the state could link this to individual purchases.

Judge Pechman ruled: "The First Amendment protects a buyer from having the expressive content of her purchase of books, music, and audiovisual materials disclosed to the government," wrote Pechman. "Citizens are entitled to receive information and ideas through books, films, and other expressive materials anonymously... The fear of government tracking and censoring one's reading, listening, and viewing choices chills the exercise of First Amendment rights."