eBay

eBay supports accessibility for users with disabilities by following Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and making its website compatible with screen readers. It also trains its customer service staff in how to assist users with disabilities.

No evidence was found of the company having leading practices in this area.

eBay has a Chief Information Security Office responsible for cybersecurity and its disclosure of cybersecurity practices meets industry norms for monitoring and responding to security incidents. Additionally, the company demonstrates best practice by reporting data breaches.

eBay supports open innovation by sharing open source accessibility tools, documentation and data sets. The company also supports the tech start-up ecosystem with its small business accelerator programme Up & Running, and it demonstrates commitment to inclusivity in innovation by disclosing the number of women it employs in tech roles.

eBay lags behind other digital companies in supporting access to digital technologies for vulnerable groups and digital opportunities for women and girls. In addition, the company can disclose the number of people with disabilities it employs and the measures it takes to create an inclusive workplace for them. eBay should also disclose how the economic value it generates is distributed among its stakeholders.

The company has opportunities to support vulnerable and underrepresented groups with digital skills training across all levels and to implement programmes to contribute to school connectivity.

eBay has opportunities to report on the government requests it receives for data. Compared to other digital companies, eBay is less transparent about how it mitigates digital harms to children. It should consider making a high-level commitment to child online safety.

The company has an opportunity to support underrepresented groups in the tech start-up ecosystem.

Although eBay aims “to support and promote human rights”, it has no publicly available policy statement committing to respect human rights. Furthermore, the company does not disclose a process to identify, assess and act on salient human rights risks in its own operations and in its business relationships. The company describes the various stakeholders it engages with in general, but it does not specify whether it engages with stakeholders whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities. However, it does have a grievance mechanism accessible to both workers and external stakeholders to raise human rights concerns and complaints.

eBay publicly commits to respecting worker health and safety, and it places health and safety expectations on its business relationships and monitors their performance. In relation to workforce diversity, the company provides a breakdown of employees in different employee categories by gender, and reports that more than 30% of its board members are women. However, the company lacks disclosures on collective bargaining and living wage in its own operations and how it supports this in its supply chain.

eBay discloses a global tax strategy overseen by two board-level committees. However, while the company discloses the income taxes it pays in the US, it does not disclose a breakdown of its income tax payments for all its individual tax jurisdictions. The company prohibits bribery and corruption and has a grievance mechanism for stakeholders to raise concerns and complaints on the topic. However, it does not include anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its business relationship contracts. eBay does disclose its approach to lobbying and political engagement; however, it should follow best practice by disclosing this in a formal policy document.