eBay apologises and pays record settlement to harassed EcommerceBytes couple
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EBay has publicly apologised and reached a final civil settlement with David and Ina Steiner, the couple who ran the ecommerce news site EcommerceBytes, ending a case over a 2019 harassment campaign carried out by former eBay employees and a contractor against them. The company's statement offered its "deepest apologies", condemned staff who pleaded guilty to criminal charges, and acknowledged the "unprofessional tone" of former executives Devin Wenig, Steve Wymer and Wendy Jones, while stressing that new leadership is now in place. Crucially, the settlement contains no confidentiality clause, so the Steiners remain free to speak publicly about what happened, a condition their lawyer said was non-negotiable from the start.
The Steiners will receive more than $46.15 million from eBay, plus $2 million from Wenig, $500,000 from Jones and $50,000 from Wymer, taking the total settlement to roughly $55.7 million (£43.6m); eBay is also donating $6 million to charity, with a further $1 million from Wenig going to a First Amendment-focused nonprofit. The underlying campaign, which unfolded over two months in summer 2019, began with threatening anonymous messages and escalated to deliveries including a bloody pig mask, live spiders and cockroaches, and a funeral wreath sent to the couple's home; eBay had previously paid a $3 million criminal penalty over the affair, and the Steiners say the civil suit gave them access to 68,000 internal documents they would otherwise never have seen.
- eBay settles harassment lawsuit with EcommerceBytes founders for $55.7m total.
- Company apologises, condemns former staff and executives involved in 2019 campaign.
- Settlement has no confidentiality clause, letting the Steiners speak freely.
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Ebay is one of the world's biggest online marketplaces, and back in 2019 several of its senior staff and a contractor became fixated on a small news outlet called EcommerceBytes, run by husband-and-wife team David and Ina Steiner. The site had been writing critical coverage of eBay, and in response, employees allegedly launched a campaign of intimidation against the couple, including sending threatening messages, publishing their personal details online, and having disturbing items delivered to their home.
The case became notable because it involved a major, publicly listed company allegedly targeting journalists over unfavourable reporting, raising questions about how far companies might go to silence critics. Several of those involved, including former eBay executives, later faced criminal charges over their roles in the campaign, while the Steiners also pursued a separate civil lawsuit against eBay and the individuals concerned seeking damages.
That civil case has now been resolved through a financial settlement, bringing years of legal proceedings to a close. The story matters because it touches on broader concerns about press freedom, corporate accountability, and how companies respond internally when facing negative media coverage.
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Originally published by Wired as “Ebay Has to Pay $55.7 Million in Settlement for Its Unhinged Harassment Campaign”.