As e-books emerge as more and more of a popular medium, politicians have to look at new ways of protecting citizens. When many laws were enacted, even decades ago, they were written without much consideration for future digital endeavors.
Arizona is the most recent to state to look at e-books, and to move to protect those that read them.
A bill is going through the state legislature to add e-books to the current library privacy law, according to the Associated Press. The current state law already prohibits the disclosure of library records without a court order. This bill would protect readers of e-books as well.
The house passed the bill with a vote of 57-1 in early March, the AP reported.
More protection should be done, as recent studies have shown how the digital publishing world is only growing—more people plan to buy e-books and plenty of others intend to borrow e-books from their local libraries. Usually, laws already protecting readers require a few changes, but usually bills don’t pass that easily when bogged down by earmarks.
This kind of protection will help many discover e-books, as they don’t have to worry about others trying to access the books they are reading.
Other states should take note and move to include the same measurements. Regardless of what people are reading, there should never be a concern that anyone could discover private and personal information—especially now when enough info is available on the Internet.
