eBay agrees $56m settlement with bloggers over harassment case

eBay has reached a $56 million settlement with a couple who experienced a severe harassment campaign orchestrated by the company and some of its former executives. The harassment was reportedly in retaliation for the couple's online critiques of the firm.

David and Ina Steiner confirmed on Tuesday that they and eBay had finalized a settlement concerning the 2019 harassment. This campaign was carried out by several of the company's executives, including eBay's then-chief executive. The Steiners operated EcommerceBytes, a website and newsletter that occasionally published critical content about eBay.

A group of former company executives ultimately admitted guilt to a series of threatening acts against the couple. These included sending a costume mask smeared with pig's blood and a book on coping with the death of a spouse. Other actions involved eBay executives dispatching a funeral wreath and sending harassing messages via Twitter (now known as X). Some even made visits to the couple's Massachusetts residence in an attempt to install a tracking device on their vehicle.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, seven former eBay executives pleaded guilty to criminal charges between 2022 and 2024. An FBI agent involved in the investigation described the former executives' actions in 2024 as an "unprecedented, relentless, and over-the-top harassment campaign."

eBay itself faced criminal charges and subsequently entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ, agreeing to pay a $3 million fine.

While eBay is responsible for the majority of the settlement, including $6 million designated for "various non-profit organizations," former eBay CEO Devin Wenig is personally contributing $1 million. Wenig departed eBay in 2019, the same year he sent a text message to another eBay executive regarding Ina Steiner, stating: "Take her down."

Wenig's contribution will go to an undisclosed charity dedicated to "protecting First Amendment rights," and will be made in Ina Steiner's name, as per the couple's legal representatives. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution safeguards freedom of speech.

Christopher Murphy of Scalli Murphy Law PC, who represented the Steiners, stated on Tuesday: "We believe this resolution sends a clear message that corporations and their executives cannot engage in this type of misconduct without facing significant consequences."

eBay issued a statement acknowledging: "What the Steiners were subjected to by former eBay employees in 2019 was wrong, reprehensible and should never have happened." The company condemned the former employees who pleaded guilty to criminal charges, which led to the civil lawsuit, and admitted to an "unprofessional tone in internal communications."

eBay concluded: "This agreement is consistent with our commitment to fairly compensate the Steiners and fulfills our efforts to make things right."