eBay is Asking European Sellers to Fight Overly Burdensome Restrictions in Proposed Digital Services Act

eBay in Europe is asking sellers to help them fight new EU rules being considered under the Digital Services Act that could significantly impede small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).

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According to eBay, the proposed rule changes could mean the following for SMEs on eBay and other marketplaces:

• Risk of seeing marketplace seller accounts or listings blocked without reason or at the slightest involuntary mistake, as well as huge bottlenecks ahead of the publication of new listings.
• A more bureaucratic and slower marketplace registration process that may put seller privacy at risk.
• Less affordable and diverse online services, dominated by only the largest players.

The company further explained:

“The European Commission’s draft proposal of December 2020 is a relatively well-balanced piece of legislation which has reasonable expectations of platforms, including online marketplaces, in the way they fight against illegal content on their sites. However, some amendments to this draft, published by the European Parliament and the European Member States over the past few months, take this legislation in a very different direction, imposing extreme obligations and liability rules on online marketplaces in particular.”

eBay Launches Digital Petition

eBay is asking sellers to help influence these changes from being adopted and to join thousands of SMEs around Europe to speak up to their elected officials about the real impact that these new rules could have on their business.

The company created a landing page explaining its position on the Digital Services Act along with a petition sellers can sign online to make their voices heard.

Also, the EU has posted the latest information on the Digital Services Act here allowing eBay sellers to review the details independently.