October 23, 2010 | Online

eBay in France sorry for excluding gays

France's eBay offered couples a chance to win 10 weeks free rent in an apartment if they were willing to buy all furnishings and clothes from the online site.

However, the contest rules explicitly exclude gay participation: "Entrants can be any two people, one of whom must be a male adult and the other a female adult."

Gay groups cried foul. The website Citegay wrote that: "Gay and lesbian couples have been told they are not allowed to take part. It is as if eBay does not want to associate itself with gay men or women."

A spokesman for eBay quickly responded: "The competition, run by eBay in France, invited teams comprising a man and a woman - irrespective of their sexual orientation or relationship, to apply to live in and furnish an eBay apartment. It was intended to attract entrants who would buy the broadest selection of goods on eBay from women's shoes to electronic gadgets.

“However, on reflection and thanks to feedback from many members of our community, we realised that the requirement for a male and female couple was too narrow, and that couples of the same sex could, of course, buy in such a broad and varied manner online.

“eBay deeply regrets the offence this mistake has caused, and as a result has clarified the rules of the competition so that it is open to any couple of any gender.”

One would think that in 2010 this kind of oversight wouldn't happen in such a big company.

Gay couples banned from eBay contest [The Connexion]