Amazon has updated its buying conditions for Kindle-E-books in the US to clarify that customers are granted a license for the content, not ownership. The new statement reads: “By submitting your order, you buy a license for the content and accept the Kindle Store use conditions.“This update is specific to American customers; International users continue to see the previous wording, but the message is the same: You do not own it; We only let you use it.
From February 26, 2025, Amazon interruptsDownload and transfer via USB“Function for Kindle units. This means that users can no longer download Kindle books directly to their computers for manual transfer, as access to purchased content now completely depends on Amazon’s Sky Infrastructure. This change points out a subtle truth about ownership and strengthens a simple fact: it is not yours if someone else can remove it.
This is not just an Amazon problem, but applies to all content and materials in our current digital era. Your favorite songs and albums on your streaming app cannot be accessed without an internet connection. They limit the number of devices you can listen to and they insert ads unless you pay them a monthly fee. Gone are the days of records, ribbons and CDs that have the freedom to listen, but you will, resell or even give it away to a friend.
What does it mean to own something? Ownership is typically understood as the action or state to possess something. In this case, we clearly possess the content, but it can be changed or taken away from us at any time. It is not true ownership. Oxford says ownership is defined as “the exclusive right to use, possess and dispose of property”. So exclusivity is required in ownership.
What about other intangible digital items such as money or identity? You have your name or handle on social media or e -mail. It’s you, it’s your online equality, persona and content you created. You may not have two people with the same name or handle and that exclusivity is enforced by a password on the account, but this account can be locked, prohibited or deleted at any time by the decisions from Facebook or X. What about that money in your bank account? You possess it and you have legal rights for it, but banks freeze accounts and governments grab money all the time. It is not true ownership.
So I ask again: What does it mean to own something? It is not enough to possess it; Having exclusivity or even legal rights is not enough. To really own something, you must be able to enforce this possession and exclusivity alone. In the physical world, enforcement is largely down on the compulsion and the threat or actual use of violence. The release message from the Lensmanns Department, the armed guards in front of a vault, drawing of boundaries after a war. In the digital domain, encryption serves this purpose and at the same time removes the need for violence by making power ineffective. It creates ownership that cannot be disregarded by violence. No amount of physical force can break strong cryptography. A government can grab a server and a business can close an account, but if data is encrypted and the key is private, the information remains inaccessible. The only way to access encrypted assets is through consent.
Encryption not only protects digital ownership; It changes the very nature of power. It removes violence from the equation. Therefore, it is so disturbing.
Digital signing in encrypted systems is how to prove ownership and control in the digital world. PGP allows you to sign messages and files which proves that they came from you and have not been changed. Nostr, a decentralized protocol on social media, works the same way. Your posts and identity are tied to your private key, not a company that can ban or delete you. Bitcoin exemplifies this principle. Checking your private keys means that only you can access and manage your funds. When you sign a Bitcoin transaction, you can only access and move your money. No bank can freeze it, no government can grab it without your key. True ownership is about having the power to enforce this ownership.
The Bitcoin axiom “not your keys, not your coins” come to mind. “Not your keys, not your coins” means that if you do not control the private keys to your Bitcoin, you do not own it. When you hold Bitcoin on an exchange, the exchange keeps the keys not you. They can freeze your account, limit withdrawals or even lose your funds. Broker accounts and pension accounts with Bitcoin ETFs can be frozen or seized the same as any bank account. True ownership means keeping your keys, because only then do you have full control over your money, identity and property.
The shift from physical to digital has made access easier, but ownership. Whether it’s books, music, identity or money, it’s just an illusion of ownership. Businesses can revoke access, governments can seize funds and platforms can delete identities, but encryption changes it. Ownership can be enforced, not by laws, a company or an institution, but after mathematics. If you want genuine digital ownership, the rule is simple: manage your keys, or another is the true owner.
This is a guest post of Will Jager. Opinions that are expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those from BTC Inc or Bitcoin magazine.