French watchdog sues eBay over safeguards

Internet auction site eBay is being taken to court by an official French consumer watchdog accused of not protecting buyers properly.

The regulatory authority, called the Council of Sales, said that eBay’s French site should be held to the same standards as other auction houses in France which need a special permit that includes guarantees of consumer protection.

In a statement, eBay’s French branch, eBay.fr, said the law suit was “totally unjust".

"eBay has invented a new way of buying and selling, which has been adopted by 10 million French people, and which is not at all the same as that of auction houses,” it said.

The Council of Sales, whose members are state-appointed, said it was not trying to crack down on online auctions, and that it encouraged them. But it said it had been studying eBay.fr carefully since 2003 and had compiled a long list of problems.