(Newser)
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The Justice Department has become involved in the long-running dispute between eBay and Craigslist amid accusations that eBay execs broke the law. Federal investigators are probing accusations that eBay employees forwarded confidential information about Craigslist's classified ads business to a team starting up eBay's own classified ads service, Reuters reports. eBay—a minority shareholder in Craigslist—denies wrongdoing and says it's cooperating with investigators.
The criminal probe "is a further escalation of a conflicted relationship between eBay and Craigslist,” an analyst tells Bloomberg. “What’s for sure is it’s going to be continually harder for eBay to influence Craigslist and realize the value of its investment in Craigslist."
