PALO ALTO: The Internet auction site eBay Inc. on Monday said US authorities
have closed an antitrust investigation without taking any action against the
company.
However, a source close to the company said another government investigation,
related to eBay's former practice of allowing gun sales on its site, remains
open.
An eBay spokesman declined to comment on the status of that investigation,
which was launched by federal prosecutors in New York in 1999. However, sources
said the probe, related to whether eBay broke any laws when it permitted the
firearms sales, is ongoing.
No charges have been brought, and eBay has long since stopped allowing gun
sales. It put a ban in place in February 1999.
Separately, eBay said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that a
Justice Department probe into its licensing program had been closed. That
investigation also related to a now-settled lawsuit eBay had filed against the
auction aggregator Bidder's Edge seeking to block it from listing eBay content
on its site.
"The division has closed its investigation without taking action against
us," eBay said in its annual report filed with the SEC. eBay, which
attracts millions of visitors to its auction site, has sought to block a number
of aggregators from listing its content on other sites, fearing it could dilute
its audience.