US lawmakers press Amazon, eBay executives over counterfeit goods

eBay associate general counsel Amber Leavitt and Dharmesh Mehta, Amazon’s vice president for customer trust and partner support, testified that their companies have invested in machine learning and other tools to identify fake listings and plan to continue to support law enforcement in their investigations of fraudulent sellers. — AP

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers urged Amazon.com Inc and eBay Inc executives to take stronger actions against third-party vendors who sell fake, stolen or unsafe goods on their shopping websites.

"Organised retail crime, selling counterfeits and stolen products, poses a threat to consumers who are unwittingly purchasing these items,” said Representative Jan Schakowsky, an Illinois Democrat, during a hearing Wednesday before a House Energy and Commerce Committee subcommittee. "Online marketplaces need to place safety and accountability to consumers before profit,” Schakowsky said to a panel of consumer advocates and technology company executives.