eBay revamps Checkout feature
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Critics say they want a way to keep the Checkout service --w hich provides buyers with information such as shipping addresses and applicable taxes -- off their auctions. eBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove said the company was considering the requests: "It's premature on that one. That's one we will continue to review."
eBay launched the Checkout feature last week, saying it was designed to address one of the most common complaints of eBay buyers: What to do after they have won an auction. While it isn't required to close the deal, Checkout appears as a button after an auction closes. Initially, the site prompted buyers that they "should" use Checkout, but eBay has agreed to change the wording to tell buyers that they "may" use Checkout.
eBay is also fixing some early problems with the service, Pursglove said. Checkout was giving out sellers' payment addresses instead of their shipping addresses to buyers and automatically including buyers' phone numbers with the shipping information that is sent to sellers.
But the bigger issue for some people is whether it should be on their auctions at all. Many sellers say they already have systems in place similar to Checkout and the feature duplicates their efforts and results in additional, unnecessary e-mail. Sellers also complained about the privacy problems and that it isn't attached to a shopping cart, meaning there is no way to ring up multiple purchases.
According to the report, backed by the EU Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs Committee last month, the use of cookies by companies is an infringement on personal privacy and therefore a human rights violation under the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
"So-called cookies, spyware, web bugs, hidden identifiers and other similar devices that enter the users' terminal equipment without their explicit knowledge or explicit consent in order to gain access to information, to store hidden information or to trace the activities of the user may seriously intrude the privacy of these users," the report said.
"The use of such devices should therefore be prohibited unless the explicit, well-informed and freely given consent of the user concerned has been obtained."
The Internet Industry Association's Peter Coroneos said today cookies were fundamental to Australian e-commerce and it was ludicrous to suggest a ban.
"When you go to a website such as an online retailer and you are going from one page to the next, putting things in a shopping cart, a cookie is what helps the site remember what you did on one page before you go to the next one," Coroneos said.
"Under Australian privacy law, cookies are not considered to be an intrusion of people's personal information.
"The reason is primarily because they are not personally identifying information in the same way as the e-mail address perhaps could be, or certainly your phone or your name or credit card details."
Coroneos said he had discussed cookies with federal authorities.
"I think we managed to satisfy them that they were not of the same order of concern as other potential breaches of privacy could be," he said.
He said the latest browsers - the programs people use to view the Web - warned users about cookies and allowed them to reject cookies.
"These kinds of issues are probably better addressed through education of the end users rather than attempting to pass a law to ban them," Coroneos said.
"It could have a potential dire effect on e-commerce and banking."