AN OVERSENSITIVE e-commerce rights group called NetChoice has demanded an apology after a National Retail Federation veep told Congress online retailers were turning ordinary folk into addicts and criminals.

Joseph LaRocca, vice president for loss prevention at the NRF was speaking at a congressional hearing on crime, terrorism, and homeland security when he noted that today’s thieves were often forced into a life of crime by the " addictive qualities" of online shopping.

LaRocca also reckoned it was so easy to sell things anonymously on the net that many criminals had become "hooked". He dramatically added: "Before they know it, they quit their jobs, are recruiting accomplices and are crossing state lines to steal-all so they can support and perpetuate their online selling habit."

Taking the melodrama to a whole new level, advocacy group NetChoice then threw a strop and demanded both LaRocca and the NRF issue immediate apologies to anyone who has ever sold anything online. Ever.

The group’s executive director, Steve DelBianco, was also apparently not very impressed with the congressional bills on e-commerce being discussed, labeling them "competition-killing" and "destructive and dangerous."

The three bills in question are the E-fencing Enforcement Act - which would make e-commerce sites hold onto vendor contact information if those sellers sold large quantities of suspicious goods- The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act, which also requires e-shops to hoard info on high volume sellers, and The Organized Retail Crime act which could make the online marketplace liable for sale of stolen goods.

LaRocca has apparently scoffed at demands for an apology, saying he meant every word.

Ok, ok, now put your stolen, Ebay handbags down ladies. µ

L’Inq
NetChoice

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