Legal Question in Legal Ethics in California

I am not sure I am posting this under the correct catagory but I want open a Class Action Suit against Ebay.

Ebay is just to big for their britches and nobody seems to want to go up against them. I do!

I am a hobby seller on Ebay and recently sold an item to a seller. It clearly stated in my listing that I would not ship by 1st class mail and then after the buyer won the iten they asked me to ship by 1st class mail. When I said nothey turned around and said they would not pay for it unless I shipped it the way they wanted, 1st class mail. I refused. They left me negative feedback which tarnished my 100% feedeback rating.

I emailed Ebay to have the feedback removed and the said due to the Communications Decency Act they cannot remove it, yet Ebay does not give sellers the option to leave negative feedback for leaving negative feedback for buyers. Isn''t this be a violation of this law? Isn't this censorship? If Ebay allows negative feedback from the buyer they need to give the same option to sellers.

This may seem like a very petty complaint but they are obligated under law to not censor feedback from either party.

Please let me know iof this is true.

Thank you, Marta


Asked on 4/05/10, 5:16 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Michael Stone Law Offices of Michael B. Stone Toll Free 1-855-USE-MIKE

And their former CEO wants to be governor.

That eBay might have violated the law isn't the same as having a $200,000 litigation budget which is what it would take to fight them.

Maybe the Justice Dept. will take them on.

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Answered on 4/11/10, 1:58 am
Edmund Burke Edmund B Burke, Attorney at Law

"Censorship" -- as the word is commonly used --occurs in the law when the *Government* forbids or censors some publication. Of course, in the USA the First Amendment governs the extent to which Government can censor publications -- and it can't do it very much. We have freedom of speech and of the press. Amendment One, US Constitution.

However, this is a restriction against the *Government*, not against private persons or companies. A private company need not tolerate speech that it doesn't like (unlike a Government, which is subject to the First Amendment).

eBay can as a private company control buyer/seller feedback any way it likes, free of any Constitutional restriction. Just as you -- a private person-- can tell a Jehovah's Witness to get off your front porch, or tell people protesting federal healthcare reform that they can't hold a rally on your lawn. You don't have to be able to show good cause to do that. It is your property. If you don't want to hear, or don't like their message, tell them to leave.

The fact that eBay limits the way that feedback is given is their business decision. It is immune from a Constitutional challenge based on "censorship." If they were the Government, it *might* be different, but they're not.

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Answered on 4/13/10, 2:13 pm


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