Watchdog to Investigate eBay over Privacy Concerns - CAPP

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TOPIC: Watchdog to Investigate eBay over Privacy Concerns

Cyber Diva

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Posts: 247

Date: Mar 17, 2007

Watchdog to Investigate eBay over Privacy Concerns	Permalink

Old news but not many have heard about the story, really..... Watchdog to Investigate eBay over Privacy Concerns source: en.epochtimes.com Pictured: EBay's headquarters in Germany. The online marketer is to be investigated over allegations that it has breached the Data Protection Act by making it difficult for customers to delete their personal account details. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)] Sep 06, 2006 By Martin Croucher Epoch Times London Staff EBay is to be investigated over allegations that it is breaking the law by obstructing customers from deleting their personal information from their records. The Information Commissioner is looking into allegations made by civil liberties group Privacy International that eBay has breached the Data Protection Act by making it so that only the most proficient and determined can delete their own account information. Account information on eBay can include bank details, addresses, past purchases and phone numbers. The online marketer, which has a 10 million customer base in the UK, maintained that the account delete function was accessible through its website and had therefore acted in accordance with the Data Protection Act. Privacy International made the case against eBay following complaints from a number of users who were not able to delete their personal details. They found that the links on the site to delete ones account were both misleading and obstructive. However, eBay is merely a test case for Privacy International (PI). They also intend to draw attention to online companies such as Amazon who not only obstruct but seemingly prevent the deletion of one's account, by denying this option to the customer altogether. Since its inception, eBay has spread to 33 countries and claims a worldwide customer base of more than 180 million people. eBay UK was launched in 1999, yet by 2004, the value of all successfully closed listings (GMV) on the site reached more than two billion pounds. It claims an annual GMV growth of 94%. PI believe that the reluctance to advertise the delete account function as well as other less commercial sites such as myspace, may have more to do with maintaining economic interests. "The size of eBay's customer base is a key element of the company's market value," Directlor of PI, Simon Davies explained. "Maintaining the growth of that customer base is therefore a core indicator of eBay's financial worth. "Obstructing the removal of accounts has the effect, intentional or otherwise, of artificially inflating the customer base at the expense of data protection rights." The rights group say that customers may wish to delete their account because of the possibility that their data may be passed to the wrong hands. Ebay states that their customer's information is shared with participants of the 'VeRO programme' if it is deemed necessary by the company in tackling "any unlawful activity". The VeRO programme however has a membership of around 10,000 organisations and individuals, a fact which Privacy International believes is sufficient to render eBay's commitments unstable. As well as addressing the issue of deletion of personal details from the marketer, PI ask in a letter to the Information Commissioner that he also "investigate the nature of this relationship and the scale of disclosures of personal information to the Programme's members". Despite this, a spokesman for eBay maintained that the company takes "the safety and privacy of its customers very seriously". A spokeswoman for the Office of the Information Commissioner confirmed that they had received the complaint and were looking into it. The initial stages will involve informal discussion with eBay, and if a problem is identified and the company fails to rectify it, there may be legal action and fines. __________________ “There is a destiny that makes us all brothers: None goes his way alone. What we put into the lives of others, comes back into our own.”--Edwin Markham

IceBlueEyes

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Posts: 1069

Date: Mar 18, 2007

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It will be interesting to see if anything comes of it. e-bay isn't very quick to fix their problems. Alot of times they'll pay out a settlement and then continue on with the very problem that got them in trouble in the first place!! It uncanny. -- Edited by IceBlueEyes at 01:43, 2007-03-18 __________________ Feel your way

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