Wednesday, June 07, 2006
By Radley Balko
Rep. Bob Goodlatte is in the process of pushing through Congress a bill that would "ban" Internet gambling. I've previously explained why the bill is bad public policy.
But since that column, it has come to light that online auction giant eBay has thrown its support behind Goodlatte's efforts. Why would an Internet company open its arms to congressional regulation of the Internet?
Some speculate that eBay is attempting to win favor with Goodlatte, who also happens to sit on the Congressional Internet Caucus. There's probably some truth to that. But there's another, more likely explanation for eBay selling out the e-commerce world: Good, old-fashioned protectionism.
