eBay and three former executives have agreed to a $55.7 million eBay cyberstalking settlement with David and Ina Steiner, the Massachusetts couple who publish the EcommerceBytes newsletter and were targeted in 2019 after covering the company, according to a settlement announcement from the Steiners’ lawyers. CNBC reported the agreement earlier.
The settlement resolves a civil case the Steiners filed in 2021 against eBay and former executives, including ex-CEO Devin Wenig. Their complaint accused the company and executives of coordinating an effort to “intimidate, threaten to kill, torture, terrorize, stalk and silence” them in order to suppress reporting about eBay.
What was the eBay cyberstalking case about?
The case centered on a 2019 harassment campaign against the Steiners, whose EcommerceBytes newsletter covered eBay. According to the civil complaint and federal prosecutors, former eBay employees targeted the couple with online and offline harassment, including shipments of live insects, a bloody pig mask, a funeral wreath and other items.
The mechanism was not subtle, which is part of why the case has stuck around in public memory. A corporate security and communications apparatus, according to prosecutors and the Steiners’ lawsuit, was turned toward private publishers who had written about the company. The alleged goal was to frighten and silence them, rather than answer coverage with facts or a phone call like adults with legal departments.
The Department of Justice charged seven former eBay employees in 2020 in connection with the harassment campaign. All seven have been convicted, according to the Justice Department. In 2024, eBay agreed to pay a $3 million criminal penalty tied to the same matter.
In a statement posted on its website, eBay said the conduct directed at the Steiners by former employees in 2019 was “wrong, reprehensible and should never have happened.” The company said it condemned the employees who carried out the misconduct and pleaded guilty to criminal charges.
Who is paying the settlement?
The announced settlement includes payments from eBay and three former executives. According to the settlement announcement, eBay will pay $46.15 million. Wenig will pay $2 million. Wendy Jones, eBay’s former senior vice president of global operations, will pay $500,000. Steve Wymer, the company’s former chief communications officer, will pay $50,000.
The agreement closes a long-running civil fight over conduct that had already produced criminal convictions and a separate corporate penalty. The settlement does not change the basic record established by the Justice Department: former eBay employees were charged over the campaign, all were convicted, and eBay later paid a criminal penalty related to the case.
For publishers and critics who cover powerful platforms, the case remains a grim little manual for what corporate retaliation can look like when executives and employees decide scrutiny is a problem to be attacked rather than answered. For eBay, the settlement puts a price on that failure: $55.7 million, on top of the earlier $3 million criminal penalty.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.
