Check out an interesting article here.

The gist is that Congress is looking to pass bills that would require sites like eBay and craigslist to keep records on its users and share that information with Congress to assist with investigations of organized retail crime.

For example--and yes, this does happen throughout the US--groups form for the express purpose of organized shoplifting from retail outlets, then sell it online at eBay (perhaps even becoming 'Power Sellers' in the process?) for around 70% of its retail value. That's a huge loss to the stores, of course, because they paid more than that just to stock the item. It's a win for the thieves, though, because on street corners they'd only get around 30% of the value.

The bills, if passed, would allow the government to have access to all of the information eBay has about you, and eBay wouldn't be allowed to tell you when you were being investigated (or otherwise tip you off).

What do you think about this? I personally don't mind as much as perhaps I should. That's because I work at retail and I'm sick of the absurd amount of shoplifting that happens. Even here in a tiny coastal town, there seems to be professional shoplifting happening (alongside the obvious petty stuff like people stealing CDs and such). The amount of theft that goes on daily is just absurd. Something needs to happen to stop it and sites like eBay have been making it twice as profitable for crooks for years.

On the other hand, this does feel a bit like punishing the innocent people. Besides, a lot of time you can get the information you need just by completing a transaction. Would the government simply be requesting a record of sales following an arrest, or would it be responding with more invasive attempts? There's a lot to be concerned about here.