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eBay settles with former critics for $56m over retaliation harassment
The settlement follows a 2019 harassment campaign that led seven former eBay executives to plead guilty, and eBay previously faced a $3m fine in a DOJ case.
eBay and former executives have agreed to pay $56 million to David and Ina Steiner in connection with a harassment campaign the pair say was retaliation for their online criticism of the company, BBC Business reports. The settlement stems from alleged harassment in 2019 involving actions connected to eBay executives and internal communications from the period when the company’s then CEO was in office.
The Steiners, who ran the EcommerceBytes website and newsletter, alleged the campaign included threatening items sent by now former eBay executives, including a costume mask covered in pigs blood and other materials. According to the report, the conduct also included funeral wreaths and harassing messages on X, along with visits to the couple’s Massachusetts home in an effort to install a tracking device.
Prosecutors say seven former eBay executives pleaded guilty to charges brought between 2022 and 2024, the outlet adds. An FBI agent described the actions as an unprecedented, relentless and over the top harassment campaign in 2024.
eBay was also criminally charged, entered a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, and agreed to pay a $3 million fine. While eBay is funding most of the settlement, former CEO Wenig is personally paying $1 million, and the report says his contribution will go to an unnamed charity dedicated to protecting First Amendment rights.