eBay developers may not use its content or its data to train Artificial Intelligence (AI), nor may developers ingest eBay data into gen-AI models or tools. On June 24th, eBay updated its API license agreement where it added the new provisions and other terms.
eBay announced the new license agreement, writing the following:
“An updated API License Agreement was posted to our portal on June 24, 2025. We have made significant enhancements to our API License Agreement, including detailed data protection measures and compliance with international regulations. Important restrictions have been applied to the use of Restricted APIs and AI content. All developers are expected to be in full compliance with the API License Agreement, so be sure to take some time to read the updated document.”
Included in the updated agreement is a new definition: “”Restricted APIs” refers to any APIs provided by eBay that offer data or insights related to market trends, pricing strategies, sales volumes, user behavior, or related information whose access is specially granted to select Developers.”
eBay prohibits those select developers from ingesting Restricted API data “into any generative artificial intelligence model or tool (“AI”) licensed from or otherwise made available by a third party without eBay’s prior written consent, which may be granted or withheld in eBay’s sole discretion.”
eBay also included a warning to developers on how they use pricing tools that incorporate eBay data, requiring them to ensure the “eBay Enhanced Tools” comply with applicable law, “including without limitation complying with the FTC regulatory requirements on deceptive pricing.”
eBay also gave itself the right to develop tools that are competitive with eBay Enhanced Tools “provided that the technology does not incorporate and is not derived from or based on any of Developer’s Confidential Information” (excerpt).
Read the full provisions and the entire API license agreement on the eBay Developers portal.
Ahhh….Looks like some were getting too close to the truth and Ebay has to shut that down. While the Ebay system is rife with programming errors, Sellers cannot make the same profit they were just a few years ago and Buyers are now having system obstacles placed in their way to purchases, Ebay’s main concern is trying to stop anyone from finding the truth and just simply covering up their mistakes – Ebay has no intention of ever fixing their system.
Face it Noisemakers & Buyers, the Ebay System is broken and Ebay has no intention of repairing it…ever.
E~Bay`s =The Criminals at Home Shopping Network; it has prosperous options; so you can easily survey the newest conceivable of conable objects. Whether you want to buy, rent, or steal something for free, E~Bay provides it all.
“This demonstrates E~Bay`s utter incompetence in the corporate arena and how little it values the time of its Participant’s. E~Bay`s use of AI is problematic, with unprincipled issues that are prevalent on disreputable corrupt marketplaces, their artificial intelligence tools continue to proliferate, all aspects of everyday life. Research has shown Unethical AI technology has unconceivable negative impacts. The amplification of harmful stereotypes, increased environmental pollution, and potential displacement; AI has not abated over time. Rather, it’s metastasized. “Now, we have an era of innovation where the greatest opportunities the technology creates are for those already enjoying a disproportionate share of strengths and resources.”
What we are seeing in AI (the enrichment of a handful of wealthy capitalists and corporations at the expense of people) AI is a repeat of the early days of industrialization. The initial years of the Industrial Revolution were marked by income inequity, poor health, and low quality of life for many who worked in hazardous conditions for bad pay. It wasn’t until workers began to unionize and fight back — eventually gaining the aegis of labor laws and shifting culture and economic policy in their favor — that the fruits of technological advancement could be enjoyed more equitably by working people, not only the rich. Except the Industrial Revolution required a large labor force. Opportunistic use of AI instead requires advertisers seeking lots of gullible consumers. Perhaps a better analogy is to the 1920’s and resulting Great Depression. We’re already seeing the rich and powerful will use AI against the masses❗️
However, there are innumerable outcomes, short of extinction that would range from bad or stupid to catastrophic. What a great way to dumb down our population “like the world has never seen before❗️“
The lesson is obvious: be careful, they pick the right measurement because it will inform the direction of “your AI”. Later on, they (E~Bay) incorporated price-related signals to their model, which fixed “accessory pollution” problems. More importantly, they changed the measurement from purchase per session into gross merchandise value (GMV) per session. With these changes, they had not just a working model, but a PROFITABLE ONE❗️