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eBay antitrust probe closed, no action taken

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CIOL Bureau
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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.

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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.

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