eBay agrees $56m settlement with bloggers over harassment case

eBay agrees $56m settlement with bloggers over harassment caseImage source, ReutersByKali HaysTechnology reporterPublished8 minutes agoeBay and some former executives have agreed to pay a couple $56m (£42m) after a campaign of harassment in retaliation for their online criticism of the firm. In a statement on Tuesday, David and Ina Steiner, said they and eBay had reached a settlement stemming from the 2019 harassment they faced at the hands of several of the company's executives, including eBay's then chief executive.The Steiners ran a website and newsletter EcommerceBytes that was at times critical of eBay. A group of now former company executives ultimately pleaded guilty to sending the couple a costume mask covered in pigs blood, a book on surviving the death of a spouse, among other threatening actions.Other actions, external perpetrated against the Steiners included eBay executives sending them a funeral wreath and harassing messages on Twitter (the social media platform now known as X). Some even paid visits to the couple's Massachusetts home in a bid to install a tracking device on their car.Seven former eBay executives pleaded guilty, external to the criminal charges between 2022 and 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.An FBI agent involved in the investigation said in 2024 that the former executives' actions were an "unprecedented, relentless, and over-the-top harassment campaign". eBay was also criminally charged and entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ and agreed to pay a fine of $3m.While eBay is paying the couple the bulk of the settlement, including $6m to "various non-profit organizations", Wenig is personally paying $1m toward the settlement.Wenig left eBay in 2019. The same year, he had sent another eBay executive a text message regarding Ina Steiner which said: "Take her down." His contribution is set to go to an unnamed charity that is "dedicated to protecti...