Apple and Alphabet have recently raised concerns over Amazon's Kindle app due to its accessibility to sexually explicit content that is unrestricted to children.

The companies have called on Amazon to improve its content moderation after it was discovered that users could view full-color photographs of naked women and people engaging in sexual acts on the app, primarily self-published by authors through Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing arm.

Families Horrified by Explicit Content Downloaded by Children

Reuters reported that two families claimed their pre-teen sons downloaded the explicit content from Amazon's Kindle Unlimited e-book subscription service and viewed it on the Kindle iPhone app. 

The parents first signed up for the service because it provided access to age-appropriate book series that would otherwise be prohibitively expensive to purchase and were unavailable through Amazon's Kids+ subscription service.

Much like Google Play, which does not allow apps containing or promoting sexual content, Amazon's Kindle app has a specific content guideline policy against pornographic content.

However, the Kindle Unlimited service does not have any parental controls.

Apple, which also prohibits apps dedicated to overtly sexual or pornographic material, has shared concerns with Amazon and is working with the company to ensure compliance with its guidelines. Google has also been in contact with Amazon about the issue.

What's next?

With a 72% market share, available data suggests that Amazon's Kindle dominates the e-reader market. The number of Kindles sold by Amazon ranges from 20 million to 90 million, demonstrating the device's popularity among consumers.

Given its dominant position as the world's leading e-book distributor, with at least two-thirds of the market, Amazon will face renewed criticism for failing to regulate the content available on its platform effectively.

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However, given First Amendment protections, Amazon is unlikely to face legal ramifications, according to internet law experts interviewed by Reuters.

According to Reuters, Amazon changed the Kindle's age rating in the Apple App Store from 4 years or older to 12 years or older after receiving alerts of the explicit material on Kindle. Meanwhile, Gizmodo spots that the Kindle was still listed as 4+ on April 3, according to the Wayback Machine, but the age rating had changed by Sunday.

On Explicit Content Found in Amazon Kindle

Amazon's Kindle Unlimited service has grown in popularity among readers looking to binge-read series and self-published books that cover a wide range of topics. 

Unfortunately, this includes text-based erotica, which can be purchased for as little as $2.99 without a subscription on Amazon's website.

Reuters tells us that while Amazon generally allows authors to self-publish online without cross-talk, the company has software tools to detect prohibited content before publication. 

However, no parental controls are available for the Kindle Unlimited service, which is the only subscription service option for customers looking for book content aimed at children aged 13 to 17.

Although Amazon has changed the age rating and is reviewing the situation, the lack of a specific policy prohibiting sexual content on the app continues to be a significant issue.

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