The Internet Association hosted a panel discussion, in which Matt Jensen of eBay Government Relations was a participant, focused on how ecommerce companies like eBay are working harder than ever to protect the trust and safety of their platforms. The event was hosted specifically for the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee and also included panelists from Etsy, Facebook, and Amazon.
Matt highlighted that eBay has been an industry leader for decades in the fight against the sale of counterfeit goods and other prohibited items. eBay's core purpose, since its founding in 1995, has been to safely connect buyers and sellers through our marketplace and empower entrepreneurs as well as micro and small businesses to reach markets around the world. eBay's commitment to consumer safety and rights owner protection is longstanding and a central value to our company.
Matt reiterated that eBay is a marketplace that is built on trust and it is core to our platform that we work to earn and keep that trust with our users every day. While the vast majority of our roughly 1.6 billion listings come from law-abiding sellers, there are inevitably bad actors who seek to abuse our platform. Simply put, these sellers and the illegal or prohibited merchandise they look to sell are not welcome on eBay. Matt discussed how eBay continuously seek ways to improve our efforts to fight against counterfeiters and bad actors, and we invest millions of dollars annually to fight unlawful listings, including counterfeit goods, that appear on the platform. In addition to the employees at eBay who work on anti-infringement issues, including anti-counterfeiting, we deploy sophisticated technologies and invest heavily in our partnerships with rights owners and governments across the globe in order to help protect consumers and support rights owners against bad actors.
Matt noted that eBay takes a comprehensive approach to prohibited items, including counterfeits, but no single policy, partnership, technology, or enforcement mechanism will adequately address bad actors. He further explained that the combination of people, policies, and tools together help ensure the safety and trustworthiness of the eBay marketplace. Matt concluded his remarks by reiterating the need for all stakeholders to work together through partnerships and increased responsibility, in order to protect online buyers and sellers.