Amazon has around 600 million products listed on its site worldwide. There are some products, however, that they probably shouldn’t have for sale.
At least, that’s what many internet users think. From speakers that can be hacked with relative ease to products without proper quality control, there are many items on the site that some people online think would be better off unlisted.
However, there are a few items for sale that internet users say can be used for evil. For example, a user on TikTok says that she recently learned of a book for sale on Amazon that teaches people how to traffic children. But is that true?
Can You Buy a Child Trafficking Guide on Amazon?
According to TikTok user and child welfare worker Abby Baker (@abby.koa), she recently completed human sex trafficking training. Specifically, her training related to child sex trafficking—which she says is “happening everywhere.”
While this is already a substantial concern, Baker says that things get worse. According to her, there are books for sale on Amazon that contain guides on how to traffic people.
“During my training, I found out that Amazon is selling a book on how to be a pimp,” she states. She adds that she will not give out the name of the book. In her words, she believes it’s “disgusting that the book was ever written and that the book was ever published.”
“But I find it even more disturbing and disgusting that Amazon is willingly selling this,” she continues. “I understand that anybody can sell on Amazon. There’s gotta be some kind of guidelines as to what can be sold there.”
She Believes The Book May Be Illegal to Sell
Baker claims that Amazon’s guidelines say that the company will not sell illegal items. This book, she argues, is “extremely illegal and disgusting.”
“The description of this book is literally ‘psychological techniques and methods to control someone’s mind and body,’” she shares. “And, if that’s not disturbing enough, this book has great reviews. People are going on giving it five stars, saying it’s super insightful, saying that it worked, saying that they loved the book.”
She closes by reiterating her belief that Amazon’s sale of this book is “disgusting” and “wrong on so many levels.”
“Watch your kids, because nobody’s safe,” she concludes.
Is This Book Even Real?
It’s difficult to figure out which book Baker is referring to, as she makes a specific effort not to mention its name.
There are numerous books on Amazon that claim to be guides to becoming a “pimp.” However, many use the term in the colloquial sense.
There is one book, however, that explicitly bills itself as an instructional guide for the practice of “pimping”: The Pimp Game: Instructional Guide, by self-professed former pimp Mickey Royal. The book partially matches Baker’s telling, as it has an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars and features a description that reads, “This book gives a panoramic view of the psychology that goes into the complete control over others-mind, body and spirit.”
However, while the book does explain how one can become a “pimp,” i.e. a person who finds and manages clients for sex workers while taking a share of their earnings, he does not detail how one would do this for children. He also writes at the beginning of the book that he “[does] not in any way neither endorse nor condone any illegal activity or act that may be depicted in the following pages.”
There also do not appear to be reviews of people saying that the book “worked,” referring to beginning their own pimping trade.
Amazon and Free Speech
Although Baker says that the sale of the book goes against Amazon’s policies, it’s likely that it does not.
First, Amazon will not sell anything explicitly illegal. However, the company has a stated policy of providing “customers with access to a variety of viewpoints, including books that some customers may find objectionable.” While they say they reserve the right to not sell “pornography or other inappropriate content,” they do not elaborate on what such content might be.
Consequently, many controversial books are currently available for sale on Amazon. For example, one can buy the Anarchist Cookbook on the site, which, per its description, contains instructions for the “home preparation of weapons, electronics, drugs, and explosives.”
Additionally, banning books that contain depictions of illegal activities could quickly send the site down a rabbit hole in which the company would ban countless, well-intended works. For example, Amazon sells numerous books that detail the true stories of people, including children, who survived sex trafficking. Reading these books, one could figure out a method for sex trafficking children, even if that is not the goal of the author.
@abby.koa Amazon, do better. #traffickingawarenes #amazon #awareness #abuseawareness ♬ original sound – Abby Baker?
How Common is Child Sex Trafficking in the First Place?
Baker’s concern about sex trafficking and preventing others from engaging in it is noble.
Thankfully, the actual practice of child sex trafficking is relatively rare in the United States. A U.S. Department of Justice study found that the total number of juveniles in the American sex trade is likely fewer than 10,000. For context, there are around 74 million people under the age of 18 in the country.
Still, anyone working with children should train themselves to look for signs of abuse and potential trafficking. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has an info sheet about the signs of trafficking, about which one can be mindful.
We’ve reached out to Amazon via email, Baker via TikTok DM and comment, and Royal via email.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
