In recent months, multiple Iranian users of Goodreads, Amazon’s social network for readers, have discovered that their accounts were suspended or removed without any warning, simply because of their current or past residence in Iran.

Some had used Goodreads for over a decade, writing hundreds of book reviews and notes, all of which vanished overnight without any prior notification. In most cases, Amazon responded with a message citing U.S. sanctions and demanded invasive documentation such as:

• Government-issued ID showing full personal data,
• Proof of current residence,
• Proof of employment or unemployment.

These users never engaged in financial transactions. Goodreads is a platform for discussing books, not banking, trading, or commerce.

Denying people access to their writing, lists, and reading history based on nationality or former location is not compliance — it is discrimination.

Worse still, these practices are not mentioned in the site’s Terms of Service. Many users who joined in good faith never had any idea that their geographic identity could be used against them years later.

📚 Books should bring people together, not divide them.
✊ No reader should be erased because of borders.

We, the undersigned, call on Amazon and Goodreads to:

• End the discriminatory suspension of accounts based on nationality or residency.
• Ensure users can access the data and content they created, regardless of where they live.
• Eliminate invasive document demands for non-financial, public platforms like Goodreads.
• Be transparent and accountable in how sanctions compliance is interpreted and enforced.

This is not just about Iran. If left unchecked, this precedent can affect users from other countries as well.
We must stand up for the universal right to read and to be heard.