eBay Inc., Q4 2009 Earnings Call, Jan 20 2010

eBay Inc. expected to Report Q1 2010 Results on April 19, 2010. This event was calculated by Capital IQ (Created on January 20, 2010).

A Seoul court ruled that Auction, a Korean open market Web site owned by eBay Inc. was not liable for any damages sought in a class action lawsuit brought by 146,000 registered users over the theft of their private information by hackers in 2008. The Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of the company, citing its efforts to put the best security measures available in place as extenuating circumstances. However, the court made a non-binding suggestion that Auction compensate the affected customers voluntarily at a level that fits its responsibility as a good corporate citizen. Auction said that it appreciated the ruling and was considering a variety of ways to give back to society. The latest case marks a departure from previous rulings on massive leaks of private information. Kookmin Bank and LG Electronics were ordered to pay compensation to customers whose information was exposed following hackers' attacks on their databases. Presiding Judge Lim Sung-geun said Auction defended its database with state-of-the-art security measures, providing the company with extenuating circumstances against the plaintiff's claim that it had failed to uphold its duty of protecting user data from hackers. In the collective action against the company, each of the 146,000 plaintiffs demanded between one and three million won ($880-$2,650) in compensation. During the two-year-long court battle, they tried to prove that they had sustained damage as a result of the leak, citing, for instance, increases in the numbers of what appeared to be phishing calls to their mobile phones.