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Can You Use a Messenger Bot for Spam Analysis?

In a recent discussion on the Twitter Blogger, James Schramko implied that the Messenger Bot was used by eBay to collect information about its buyers. After posting <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOhWRn8EcqU&feature=youtu.be">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOhWRn8EcqU&feature=youtu.be</a> , a number of users called upon eBay to ban the use of Messenger Bot for collecting user information. This post spawned several related discussions, with some users posting their objections to the u

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Can You Use a Messenger Bot for Spam Analysis?

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  1. Can You Use a Messenger Bot for Spam Analysis? In a recent discussion on the Twitter Blogger, James Schramko implied that the Messenger Bot was used by eBay to collect information about its buyers. After posting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOhWRn8EcqU&feature=youtu.be , a number of users called upon eBay to ban the use of Messenger Bot for collecting user information. This post spawned several related discussions, with some users posting their objections to the use of the bot, and others claiming that it doesn't break any of the Terms Of Service agreement's eBay has in place. In addition to the heated discussion, there was also a bit of sniping between eBay staff members Val Schramko (ebayhoo owner) and Jason Steele (ebayrate founder) who are credited as the original authors of the Bot. I decided to conduct my own investigation into the matter.To begin with, I downloaded and installed the Bot to test its functionality, and to see if it could collect and upload information used by eBay for their user behavior analysis. The Bot did indeed collect a substantial amount of information, including user name, email address, product purchased, and physical location. The only information it transmitted that I found remotely troubling was the IP address of the computer from which the information was gathered. Since eBay does not make publicly available their software source code, I was unable to determine how or where the IP address came about. Nonetheless, I am glad I removed the Bot, as it seemed to be a problematic addition to the shopping cart package.The next item to investigate was the legality of the use of the Messenger Bot in my ecommerce store. Based on the eBay Terms of Service agreement, I believe that the use of the Bot in my ecommerce store was legal according to the extent of the use. Specifically, the eBay definition of a "user" is "any person who makes purchases on eBay. A user may also be a company or an organization." Although my inquiry as to whether the use of the Bot in my ecommerce store was legal was primarily based on its use for behavior analysis, I do agree with eBay's broader definition of a "user," and will therefore abide by eBay's TOS as long as my use of the Messenger Bot does not infringe on the rights of others.

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