The foundation of eCommerce is trust. Trust can only exist where safety exists. Trust and safety in eCommerce are, therefore, top priorities for eBay.

Trust and safety is the task of all relevant players. The German Government Relations Team works actively to build consensus and to advocate for a legal framework which enables and secures safety on the Internet.

An example of this commitment is the participation of eBay with the two national IT summits of the Federal Government. Upon requests of the German chancellor, the managing director of the eBay GmbH in Germany, Dr. Stefan Groß-Selbeck, has taken the lead of the summit working group, "Security and Trust in IT and the Internet". While the IT Summit 2006 focused on the education of Internet users, the IT Summit 2007 dealt with questions of digital identities. The latter is an example of national measures, e.g. an electronic identity card, which can help to create user-friendly methods for an even higher level of safety on the net. To include all technical, legal, economic and social implications into the considerations is a major task, and eBay Government Relations contributes to the discussion.

eBay supports user education to help protect consumers against dangers on the Internet through active participation in the association, "Deutschland sicher im Netz e.V.” (Germany Safe in the Internet).

eBay is committed to combating dangers and illegal contents in the Internet. However, even the law recognizes generally that a commitment to addressing these problems cannot always mean legal liability, if third parties use the services made available by an Internet Service Provider (ISP). The system of a graduated responsibility of ISPs, developed by the European eCommerce-Directive and transposed through the German Telemediengesetz, has led to an unclear legal situation in Germany. To find a balance between legitimate expectations to responsible ISPs and the possibilities new technology offers to users and companies alike, will be an important political question of the near future.

eBay has an invested interest in a "clean" marketplace. Our goal is effective law enforcement on the Internet and, in particular, the protection of copyrights and patent rights. eBay uses its own safety systems, which can recognize many illegal activities in an early stage. With our Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) program, eBay offers one of the longest existing and well proven reporting tools for right owners on the Internet (the so-called “notice and takedown” procedure). Legal basis for such a procedure, like we have in the US and in Finland, would help to further perfect the procedure and prevent possible abuses.