I agree ebook technology could be used for this in totalitarian states. But is that the argument of TFA? I don't think that's the case he's making, I don't see

I agree ebook technology could be used for this in totalitarian states. But is that the argument of TFA? I don't think that's the case he's making, I don't see malicious intent in what he describes. I think my Kindle notifies me when there's an update of a novel. This could of course be subverted. But are we ready to claim this is what happens to the majority of e-novels? I don't think it is. I'm also willing to bet that so far no novel in my Kindle has been edited with changes specifically tailored for me by an algorithm (meaningful text changes, I mean. I don't mean the book cover or DRM or whatever, and neither does the author of the TFA. That's why he talks about the elegance of words, which has nothing to do with DRM!). This could change and I absolutely see a dystopian future where this can happen. But my understanding is that the author is describing the situation now, and I just don't see it.