EBay, former execs to pay $56 million in blogger harassment and stalking case

EBay headquarters in San Jose, California.David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesEBay and several former executives have agreed to pay nearly $56 million in a settlement with a Massachusetts couple who were the target of a bizarre harassment and stalking scheme. The couple, Ina and David Steiner, had been subjected to a "terror campaign" in 2019 that was "designed to stop their reporting," attorneys for the Steiners said in a release. The Steiners run EcommerceBytes, a website closely followed by online sellers, which had angered eBay executives who didn't like its tone and content. Communications revealed in a 2024 criminal complaint brought by federal prosecutors showed senior eBay executives exchanging messages about Ina Steiner, including one where former CEO Devin Wenig said to "take her down." The couple received a stream of online threats and strange deliveries to their home, including live insects, a funeral wreath, a bloody pig mask and a book about surviving the loss of a spouse. Additionally, former eBay employees surveilled the couple and attempted to install a GPS tracker on their car to keep tabs on their whereabouts. Read more CNBC tech newsAmazon, Meta and Microsoft face skeptical investors this week after Google report sparked sell-offAMD, Micron and Nvidia extend losses as chip stocks get clobberedApple plans to lease iPhones for $17.99 a month through partnership with KlarnaSam Altman to meet with Trump administration, Senators this week. Here's what he plans to sayThe settlement, which resolves a 2021 civil case, includes a roughly $46.1 million payment from eBay, $2 million from Wenig, $500,000 from eBay's former senior vice president of operations and $50,000 from eBay's former chief communications officer. The company and Wenig also agreed to donate to various nonprofits. EBay, which was required to issue a statement as part of the agreement, said in a release that the settlement "fulfills our efforts to make things right" with the Steiners."As we have long stated, what the Steiners were subjected to by former eBay employees in 2019 was wrong, reprehensible and should never have happened," the company said. "We condemn, in the strongest terms possible, the employees who perpetrated and pled guilty to criminal charges for the misconduct against Ina and David Steiner."The company said the conduct "is not representative of eBay's culture" and that following the incident, it has installed new leaders and "strengthened its policies, procedures, controls and training." Seven former eBay employees pleaded guilty to charges related to their roles in the scheme. James Baugh, eBay's former senior director of safety and security, was sentenced to almost five years in prison. Wenig wasn't named in the criminal case. He told the Boston Globe in a statement that the harassment was "deliberately done in secret and without my knowledge."Attorneys for the Steiners said additional and separate settlements were reached with all other employees named in the civil complaint.