eBay Main Street

This week the Australian Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet published submissions to the Cyber White Paper, Connecting with Confidence: Optimising Australia's Digital Future. The White Paper focuses on how governments, businesses and individuals can realise the full benefits of cyberspace while at the same time ensuring current and emerging risks can be managed. The Paper covers a broad range of areas including consumer protection, cyber safety, cyber crime, cyber security and cyber defence. eBay Inc. provided submissions from both the eBay and PayPal brands with recommendations including the establishment of a Consultative Working Party on the Digital Economy focusing on cyber security and growing the digital economy in line with the National Digital Economy Strategy.

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The San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce has named Tod Cohen, eBay Inc. Vice President of Government Relations and Deputy General Counsel, its 2012 Business Advocate of the Year. Cohen will be inducted into the Business Hall of Fame at a March 2 awards ceremony. The prestigious award recognizes Cohen for his tireless advocacy on behalf of small business online commerce and the frictionless trade of goods and services around the world. Congratulations, Tod!

eBay is supporting the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) campaign to increase consumer’s awareness of their rights to require repair, replacement or refunds including when they have bought a product that is faulty, unsafe or not as described.

Rick Buck, Head of Privacy for eBay-owned GSI, played a significant role in last week's Data Privacy Day. Click here to see Buck's remarks given at the Intersection of Privacy & Security event hosted by the National Cyber Security Alliance in Washington, DC. Buck, a panelist focused on industry best practices, was joined by representatives from Facebook, AT&T and Master Card. He shared eBay's position on privacy and data security and highlighted the company's numerous successes in the field. "Privacy is about how you use information and security is how you protect it and regulate who has access to it," said Buck. "It means the same thing regardless of whether it's online commerce or whether it's filling orders or merchant data or consumer data. It's all about protecting it."

This week eBay is proud to be an official sponsor of Data Privacy Day, an international collaboration between government officials, privacy advocates, and private industry to promote privacy awareness and education across the United States, Canada, Council of Europe member countries, and a host of other countries. This annual awareness initiative focuses on educating consumers and businesses alike about the importance of protecting the privacy of personal information.

Jim "Griff" Griffith, eBay Inc.'s Senior Manager of Seller Development, served on a panel last month sponsored by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s Office of Rural Development to highlight how broadband Internet has brought economic development opportunities to rural America. Griffith described how rural small businesses that use eBay are taking advantage of the Internet and contributing to the economic growth of their communities. Visit the USDA's website to view and hear the presentation in its entirety.

David Napper, Asset Protection Manager, eBay Asia Pacific, addresses members of the security community at "Security on the Move", a road show series of informational security events in Sydney, Australia. Napper shares information about the various scams and fraud cases that have affected eBay in the Asia Pacific region and what the company is doing to ensure security for users.