"We have the most pro-active policies and tools to combat fraud and illegal activity of all the major Internet commerce companies," said Tod Cohen, eBay's vice president and deputy general counsel for Government Relations, in a statement to the committee. "eBay is no place for the sale of stolen or illegal military goods. The transparency of our site, our rules, enforcement tools and our commitment to working with law enforcement makes it an unwelcome venue for criminals to fence these goods."
Cohen said eBay looked forward to working with the committee and government officials on more effective ways to prevent stolen or illegal items from being listed on the auction site.
In a statement, Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster said, "Contrary to what the GAO report implies, Craigslist has more people actively engaged in its anti-fraud efforts than any Web site on Earth. In addition to our in-house anti-fraud team numbering a dozen or more staff members, and the automated blocking and screening routines we have developed, Craigslist benefits from tens of millions of passionate users diligently reviewing every ad on the site, with each user having the power to delete inappropriate ads, which power they exercise to the tune of several million ads removed each month."
Buckmaster added that GAO investigators said they saw questionable ads being removed from Craigslist as they searched the site. He also said he was surprised that the GAO did not highlight the fact that, unlike every other party cited in the report, Craigslist doesn't earn money from the sale of military items.
"It should be noted that, with the exception of Craigslist, each of these parties has a strong financial incentive for failing, or at least delaying, putting an end to this trade," he said.