A California appellate court affirmed yesterday that eBay, the
US-based internet auction house, is not liable for the sale of fake
sports memorabilia on its web site.
The company was sued two years ago by a group of buyers. They
claimed that eBay violated a California state statute by failing to
verify the authenticity of the items sold on its auction site. It
was alleged that eBay knew about the fake sports collectibles but
failed to respond to consumers’ complaints and warnings from the
authorities.
However the court ruled that eBay is immune from liability,
under a federal law which protects “interactive computer service
providers” from the misdeeds of their users caused by third
parties.
The court stated that the victims of the fraud could not hold
eBay "responsible for misinformation or misrepresentations
originating with" others.
The decision is the last in a series of rulings that back-up
eBay’s stance that it is free of liability. The company has
admitted higher-than-normal rates of fraud in its on-line auctions.
It claims, however, that it tries to control it by suspending
sellers or reporting them to the authorities. It has also
introduced a fraud detection system.
