eBay's Paypal: Balancing Marketplace and Regulatory Regimes

Computer Law Review International, No. 6, pp. 168-176, 2008

9 Pages Posted: 5 Mar 2009 Last revised: 15 Mar 2009

See all articles by John Selby

John Selby

Macquarie University - Department of Business Law; University of New South Wales (UNSW) - Centre for Cyberspace Law & Policy

Christopher J. Manning

Macquarie University - Department of Business Law

Date Written: December 1, 2008

Abstract

This article analyses the reasons why eBay's April 2008 attempt to force its Members to only use PayPal for their auction transactions failed to gain approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. It describes and analyzes the complex interplay between eBay's marketplace, Australian Competition law and Australian Payments Systems law to determine why eBay was unsuccessful when it had been so successful in the past in imposing changes on its Members. It provides a guide to Members in countries outside of Australia on one method to challenge eBay's dominance and a salutary lesson on the complexity of Internet regulation.

This article has been uploaded to SSRN after a 3-month publication delay agreed with the journal publisher.

Keywords: eBay, Paypal, Competition, Payment Systems, Auction, Internet, Regulation, ACCC, Reserve Bank of Australia

JEL Classification: G21, G28, K12, K21, L12, L22, L42, N27, N47

Suggested Citation

Selby, John E. and Manning, Christopher J., eBay's Paypal: Balancing Marketplace and Regulatory Regimes (December 1, 2008). Computer Law Review International, No. 6, pp. 168-176, 2008, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1352083

John E. Selby (Contact Author)

Macquarie University - Department of Business Law ( email )

Australia

HOME PAGE: http://www.law.mq.edu.au/html/staff/selbyj.htm

University of New South Wales (UNSW) - Centre for Cyberspace Law & Policy ( email )

Sydney, NSW 2052
Australia

HOME PAGE: http://www.cyberlawcentre.org/

Christopher J. Manning

Macquarie University - Department of Business Law ( email )

Australia

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
505
Abstract Views
2,550
Rank
87,238
PlumX Metrics