eBay has agreed to pay $three million in reference to a 2019 harassment marketing campaign directed at a Massachusetts couple who criticized the e-commerce website. The US Division of Justice introduced the utmost felony penalty on Thursday and stated the corporate dedicated six crimes.
Particularly, the DOJ charged eBay with two counts of stalking by interstate journey, two counts of stalking by digital communications providers, one depend of witness tampering, and one depend of obstruction of justice. The allegations stem from an egregious harassment marketing campaign carried out by a bunch of seven eBay workers, a few of whom had been firm executives.
In 2019, workers got here up with a plan to focus on Ina and David Steiner, a pair who ran an e-commerce e-newsletter that coated eBay with a crucial lens. Along with sending the pair on-line threats, workers visited the couple’s residence to conduct surveillance and despatched them grotesque gadgets, together with a bloody pig masks, a funeral wreath, reside bugs and a guide about overcoming the dying of a partner. eBay’s former chief safety officer James Baugh and the corporate’s former director of worldwide resilience had been sentenced to jail in 2022, whereas the remaining 5 workers had been additionally charged.
“eBay engaged in completely horrific felony conduct,” Appearing U.S. Lawyer Joshua S. Levy stated in an announcement. “Firm workers and contractors concerned on this marketing campaign put the victims by way of pure hell in a petrifying marketing campaign designed to silence their reporting and defend the eBay model.”
As a part of the deferred prosecution settlement, the DOJ requires eBay to retain a company compliance monitor for 3 years and “make in depth enhancements to its compliance program.” eBay responded to the settlement in a publish on its web site, writing that it “takes accountability for the misconduct of its former workers.”
“The corporate’s conduct in 2019 was flawed and reprehensible,” eBay CEO Jamie Iannone stated in an announcement. “Since eBay first grew to become conscious of the occasions in 2019, eBay has cooperated absolutely and extensively with legislation enforcement authorities… eBay stays dedicated to upholding excessive requirements of conduct and ethics and to creating issues proper with Steiner .”
Replace January 11, 2:10 PM ET: Added a response from eBay.