Restore Ownership. Win a Medal.

One of the biggest anti-ownership stories of the last couple months came from the everything, everywhere, can’t-get-away-from-it-store: Amazon. In early April, the company announced that starting today, Kindle devices made before 2013 will no longer be able to access the Kindle store to download new ebooks. Customers who took good care of their e-readers are now forced to buy a new device if they want to continue adding to their personal Kindle libraries.

We started our bounty program to address this exact kind of anti-ownership practice. But once we started digging into what a Kindle bounty might look like, we realized that people have long been finding and sharing ways for consumers to take back control over their Amazon devices.

Sometimes, pushing for our right to own our stuff means incentivizing people to develop new ways to make that technologically possible. In cases like the Kindle, where the community is already on it, we want to recognize the folks that are doing the good work.

Enter: the FULU Right to Own medal and our first winner, Dammit Jeff.

Helping Kindle owners take back their e-readers

Jeff has made a number of videos that walk viewers through both how and why they should install their own software on their Kindle devices.

As Jeff explains in his video,“There’s plenty of reasons to go out and jailbreak your Kindle. Of course stuff like adding custom readers, support for EPUB books, custom lock screens, running Linux, smart home applications. But to me, the biggest reason is the ability to completely disconnect from Amazon services entirely… It’s more about ownership than anything else.”

Jeff didn’t invent KOReader or the jailbreak method. But he has engaged in and cultivated a community of viewers, hackers, and other YouTubers to get the word out on why ownership is important. And he’s empowered consumers to act on that message. His Kindle jailbreak videos have reached more than 4 million people since he first posted about the issue in 2025, and has posted updated videos to ensure consumers can continue to jailbreak devices even after Amazon released firmware updates that patched the exploit that allowed users to jailbreak devices.

Beyond the Kindle jailbreak, Jeff regularly creates videos that show consumers how to quit exploitative subscription services, take back control of the technology, and modify the products they own.

Here’s to you, Jeff! Keep up the good work.

Nominating others for a Right to Own Medal

While Jeff is the first Right to Own Medal winner, he won’t be the last. FULU wants to continue to recognize those who are going above and beyond to promote and protect ownership rights. To nominate someone going above and beyond the call of duty to enable consumers to take back control of their tech, email maria@fulu.org with the subject line “Right to Own Medal Nomination” for our team to review. In your email please share why you are nominating this person, how their work has supported your ability to control your stuff, and any relevant links to their content.