eBay 1998 Annual Report Download - page 16

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Please find page 16 of the 1998 eBay annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

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16
in this area. One or more states may attempt to impose these regulations upon the Company in the future, which
could harm the Company’ s business.
Several states have proposed legislation that would limit the uses of personal user information gathered online
or require online services to establish privacy policies. The Federal Trade Commission also has recently started a
proceeding with one online service regarding the manner in which personal information is collected from users and
provided to third parties. Changes to existing laws or the passage of new laws intended to address these issues could
directly affect the way the Company does business or could create uncertainty in the marketplace. This could reduce
demand for the services of the Company or increase the cost of doing business as a result of litigation costs or
increased service delivery costs, or could otherwise harm the Company’ s business. In addition, because the
Company’ s services are accessible worldwide, and the Company facilitates sales of goods to users worldwide,
foreign jurisdictions may claim that the Company is required to comply with their laws. In some jurisdictions, the
Company will be required to collect value-added taxes on its fees. The Company’ s failure to comply with foreign
laws could subject it to penalties ranging from fines to bans on the Company’ s ability to offer its services.