eBay's CEO and Hewlett-Packard's Chief Privacy Officer went to Washington to testify in front of a House sub-committee meeting called, "Privacy in the Commercial World II." The companies, along with ten other large corporations (and growing), have formed the "Consumer Privacy Legislative Forum" to argue for federal privacy legislation to avoid the complexity of complying with state privacy laws and industry-specific laws that govern data privacy and security (http://energycommerce.house.gov/108/Hearings/06202006hearing1938/hearing.htm).

According to the Wall Street Journal, eBay CEO Meg Whitman also advocated for "vigorous enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission and against private right of action." This would bar victims from filing class-action lawsuits against violating corporations (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115083716168285522.html).

eBay has become a powerful lobbyist in Washington DC over the years and is also influencing state politics, as reported in a recent New York Times article (http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/06/04/technology/web.0604ebay.php).

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