Ebay Changes Privacy Policy

omarius writes: "Ebay is changing their privacy policy (the Ebay FAQ on the new policy is here). According to this article on CNET, this means they can share your auction history with anyone. I heard it this morning on NPR, and am considering cancelling my account."

Comments

eBay can

[markwelch]

I think the opening paragraph about the eBay changes is misleading, and misses the point.

Omarius wrote that eBay "can share your auction history with anyone..." What's new about that? Auction bidding has long been public, though eBay has recently started hiding some data about bidders (it says to reduce spam, some say to impair competition). Sure, I might be embarassed that someone can do a search on eBay and see what items I bid on (a Monkees LP?), and what items I bought (a porn video?), but that's been a feature of the service for years.

The real change isn't about auction activity. The "real" issues, as I understand them, are these changes:

• First, eBay is broadening its right to disclose customers' "personal information" to others. The operative language is that eBay now says it can release your personal information "as we in our sole discretion determine necessary or appropriate to maintain a level of trust and safety in our community and to enforce our user agreement, privacy policy and any posted policies or rules applicable to services you use through our site." That is simply an unlimited right to do anything they want with your personal information (which I assume includes your email, address, phone, etc., and could easily include sharing your address and credit card number with any eBay merchants whose auctions you've won).

• Second, eBay now reserves the right to "suspend customers if eBay believes their actions may cause a financial loss to the company, other customers or themselves." This language could be construed to mean that anyone who criticizes eBay or any of its merchants, could be suspended because their comments might cause harm (reduced sales) to eBay or its merchant customer.

Over and Over and Over again....

[CDWert]

This privacy stuff is getting to the point I want to scream "NOTHING IS PRIVATE IN THE FIRST PLACE" , Learn it live with it, your habbits , are profiled, you can do one of serveral things.

Come up with a COMPLETE , ALTER Identity, mine has even its own credit rating(this happened quite by accident). Pay 500 bucks set up a corporation and accounts, set up a false name with access to those account (This IS legal, a role account) AND since all your transactions are online (banking and such you will never need an ID, BESIDES, YOU the officer has access in person if its needed) Get a corprate PO box, and youre set, never need to use your real name again, NOW this isnt to avoid law enforcment it wont work, they can still find you, BUT it will completley render useless almost all personal data collected on you for marketing purposes.

Second is completley screw with the profiling efforts, the left and right 5% are typically dismissed in marketing efforts, fall into that and they wont bother you.

Third, dont care, dont give a crap, and let em send you all the targeted marketing they want, know your information is a commodity to be sold and have fun with that, adding things like wrong phone numbers, and bizzare information whenever possible which ties into number 2.

OR the LAST reccomendation, you will go NUTS, Worry about all of this, make every effort to OPT out, calling all your creditors, and online subscription companies to find out what their OPT out policy is (they have to have one) and try to OPT OUT of all data sharing, only to find you forgot one place and your data is still EVERYWHERE !