eBay harassment settlement totals $55.7M for EcommerceBytes publishers

eBay and several former executives have agreed to a $55.7 million eBay harassment settlement with Ina and David Steiner, the Massachusetts couple behind EcommerceBytes. The deal ends a civil case over a 2019 campaign in which former eBay employees targeted the Steiners after coverage the company disliked, using online threats, surveillance efforts and disturbing deliveries to their home.

Scalli Murphy Law, which represented the Steiners, said eBay will pay $46.15 million in compensation. Former eBay CEO Devin Wenig will pay $2 million, former Senior Vice President of Global Operations Wendy Jones will pay $500,000, and former Chief Communications Officer Steve Wymer will pay $50,000. The settlement also includes charitable payments: $6 million from eBay to various charities and $1 million from Wenig to a First Amendment rights charity in Ina Steiner’s name, according to the law firm.

The company’s most recent quarterly report listed $3.1 billion in revenue and $512 million in net income. The settlement is therefore not financially existential for eBay, but it is a large civil resolution tied to corporate misconduct against journalists covering an online marketplace.

What is the eBay harassment settlement?

The settlement resolves Ina and David Steiner’s 2021 civil lawsuit over a harassment and cyberstalking operation carried out in 2019. The Steiners run EcommerceBytes, a publication focused on e-commerce sellers and marketplaces, including eBay.

The conduct described in the case included sending live cockroaches, a funeral wreath, a book about coping with the death of a spouse and a bloody pig mask to the couple’s home. The campaign also involved harassing messages over email and Twitter and an effort to place a GPS tracker on the Steiners’ car.

Ina Steiner wrote on EcommerceBytes that she and her husband had “officially settled” the lawsuit they filed over a campaign designed to stop their reporting. Their lawyers said the main settlement with eBay and the former executives contains no confidentiality limits and required eBay to make a public statement about the behavior of executives and the company’s 2019 culture.

What eBay said about the former employees

In a statement, eBay said the treatment of the Steiners by former employees was “wrong” and “reprehensible.” The company said it condemned the employees who carried out the misconduct and pleaded guilty to criminal charges. eBay also acknowledged what it called an unprofessional tone in internal communications involving Wenig, Wymer and Jones to varying degrees.

eBay said new leadership has joined since 2019 and that it has strengthened policies, controls, procedures and training. The company did not provide new details in the statement about individual accountability beyond the settlement and prior criminal proceedings.

The Steiners’ civil complaint accused Wenig and Wymer, who were not criminally charged, of giving other defendants broad permission to stop the Steiners’ reporting. The lawsuit quoted Wymer as saying he wanted to see “ashes” and “whatever it takes.” An amended complaint alleged Jones asked whether the issue could be handled “off the radar” and told another defendant to get it done without giving her the details.

Criminal case already produced prison sentences

The civil deal follows earlier criminal cases involving former eBay employees and contractors. Seven pleaded guilty. Former eBay security executives James Baugh, David Harville, Philip Cooke and Stephanie Popp received prison sentences of 57 months, 24 months, 18 months and 12 months, respectively. Two others received a year of home confinement, and another was sentenced to time served plus a year of supervised release.

eBay also faced criminal charges and in 2024 agreed to pay a $3 million fine under a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Following the civil settlement, the Steiners filed to withdraw their complaint and end the case. Their lawyer, Christopher Murphy, said the litigation was intended to uncover what happened, protect journalists and publishers, hold responsible parties accountable and deter similar corporate conduct.

This story draws on original reporting from Ars Technica.