E-books can be remotely deleted and even changed.

Many books or texts that originate as digital are also ephemeral. These texts may have not a physical counterpart. Readers aren’t buying the text itself, they’re purchasing a subscription. If the subscription expires, the reader will no longer have access to the book or article.

The malleability of content after an e-book’s publication is even more concerning. The sheer flexibility of new book publishing technologies makes them vulnerable to censorship. That means if someone finds a passage in a book offensive, a simple procedure can change it. This isn’t just theoretical.