Economics

Amazon Shareholders Ask CEO Why The Retailer Sells Violent Video Games, But Not Guns

Claiming inconsistency

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During Amazon.com's annual shareholder meeting last week, the National Center for Public Policy Research's Horace Cooper asked Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos about why the company bans the sale of weapons parts, but not the sale of violent games and movies. Bezos reportedly side-stepped the question, but was then faced with similar questions from three of Amazon's own shareholders. Amazon, it seems, has inconsistent policies towards the sale of violent media and guns.

"I won't even tell you what is in the film 'Cannibal Holocaust,' but if you're curious, you are selling it for $22.50," Cooper told Bezos (pdf) in a prepared inquiry. "If you want the most violent video game, 'Manhunt,' you're in luck. What Amazon describes as an exploration of 'the depths of human depravity in a vicious, sadistic tale of urban horror,' is not only available on Amazon, you sell 'Manhunt 2' as well. Apparently it is the go-to game for people who want to, as Amazon's product page puts it, 'execute their kills in 3 deadly threats—Hasty, Violent and Gruesome.'"

H/T np complete