eBay and Paypal questioned on their revised user agreements

New York law enforcement officials said in a letter to eBay Inc and PayPal Inc that the companies' revised user policies lead to concerns under consumer protection laws, according to the New York Times.

The revised user agreements will allow the company and the payments division in collecting a debt or polling their opinions with help of surveys and questionnaires. As per reports, Ebay's updated user agreement will take effect on Monday and PayPal's will also become effective on July 1.

According to the newspaper, Melissa Grace, spokeswoman for New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, said, "Consumer choice and privacy preferences are protected by state and federal laws - including laws that specifically aim to stop companies from using invasive robocalls to promote products to consumers who do not wish to receive them". Schneiderman added that the attorney general's office will make efforts to stop unlawful breaches of privacy and put into effect the rules that protect consumers.

The letters have been written by Kathleen McGee, chief of the attorney general's Internet Bureau. The letters say that the auction site or payment processor should be completely stopped so that users avoid the possibility of marketing calls or text messages.

According to a representative of PayPal, the company received the letter of inquiry; it will respond to it and PayPal customers could opt not to receive autodialed or prerecorded message calls.

Representatives at the New York Attorney General's office and eBay did not reply when asked for comments.