Hacker Auction Banished From Sites

[William Knowles <wk () C4I ORG>]

http://www.auctionwatch.com/awdaily/dailynews/november00/1-112700.html

by Michelle Dennehy
November 27, 2000, 3 p.m. PT

Famed hacker Kevin Mitnick has received a cool response from the Big
Three auction sites.

First eBay and then both Yahoo Auctions and Amazon.com Auctions
removed the federal prison ID card Mitnick's father was auctioning,
which has since moved to new auction site DutchBid.com.

Currently on probation, Mitnick is not allowed to use a computer--and
thus not able to run the auction himself--as a result of his
conviction for computer hacking and related crimes, for which he was
imprisoned for almost five years.

In a phone interview with AW, Mitnick said his father previously had
successfully auctioned off Mitnick's first computer and a Motorola
telephone on eBay.

But eBay, along with Yahoo Auctions and Amazon.com Auctions, pulled
the auction for Mitnick's federal prison ID card. According to
Mitnick, eBay initially told his father that the auction was removed
because Mitnick had been convicted of a violent felony. However, after
his father pointed out that his son was not convicted of a violent
felony, eBay cited its user policy that federal ID cards were not
allowed on the site.

Mitnick told AW that he does not believe that Yahoo Auctions and
Amazon.com Auctions have a policy against federal ID cards. Rather,
they pulled the auction simply because it did not fit their "community
standards."

"In my mind, the reason [they pulled the auction] was notoriety,"
Mitnick said.

He added that he had checked with an attorney who told him there was
no law forbidding the sale of ID cards, provided the cards are not
faked.

The DutchBid.com auction description for the ID card calls Mitnick
"the world's most famous hacker." It also states that Yahoo canceled
the auction with a note reading "this kind of activity is not
permitted," offering no further clarification. Similarly, Amazon.com
said the auction violated "community standards," but offered no
further explanation.

A Yahoo spokesperson disputed this, saying that Yahoo Auctions'
customer care department believed Mitnick's federal prison ID card was
a government-issued ID card, and that such items are illegal to sell.

AW could not reach Amazon.com Auctions by press time. No reference is
made to ID cards in its prohibited content section, but items "whose
sale is prohibited by any applicable law" are not allowed.

So far, the DutchBid.com auction is up to $1,400 with two bids; the
reserve has not been met. The auction ends December 9.

In the meantime, despite not being able to use a computer, Mitnick has
some other projects to work on. He said that the probation department
granted him permission to write magazine articles and do public
speaking on computer-related topics, although he is not allowed to
travel outside Southern California.

Mitnick also said he has been offered a talk radio show with KFI, part
of Premiere Networks, but he has not yet received permission to do the
show.

[ http://www.dutchbid.com/listings/details/index.cfm?itemnum=975200478
Location of Kevin Mitnick's prison ID card, Still at $1400.00 -WK]


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