eBay Faces $3 Million Penalty in Blogger Harassment Lawsuit

eBay Agrees to $3 Million Settlement in Blogger Harassment Case.

In a resolution to harassment charges against bloggers critical of the company, eBay has agreed to pay a $3 million (£2.36 million) fine. Court papers reveal that eBay executives, including Jim Baugh, the former senior director of safety and security, orchestrated the harassment by sending live spiders and cockroaches to Ina and David Steiner. The Steiners were targeted due to their production of EcommerceBytes, a newsletter disliked by eBay executives. The harassment left the couple ’emotionally, psychologically, and physically’ terrorized, according to court filings.

Court documents assert that Baugh, along with six associates, orchestrated a campaign to intimidate the Steiners.

The intimidation tactics employed included the dispatch of live insects, a fetal pig, and a funeral wreath to the Steiner’s residence in Natick, Massachusetts. Court filings reveal that Baugh and his associates went further by installing a GPS tracking device on the couple’s car and posting invitations for sexual encounters at their home on Craigslist.

Following the incident, the implicated employees were terminated by eBay. In 2021, Philip Cooke, an employee, received an 18-month prison sentence, while the subsequent year saw Jim Baugh sentenced to nearly five years.

Baugh’s legal defense argued that he was under pressure from former eBay CEO Devin Wenig to curb the Steiners’ coverage of the company. Wenig, who resigned in 2019, has not been charged in the case and denies any knowledge of the harassment campaign.

“eBay engaged in absolutely horrific, criminal conduct,” acting Massachusetts US Attorney Josh Levy told the AP news agency by email.

“The company’s employees and contractors involved in this campaign put the victims through pure hell, in a petrifying campaign aimed at silencing their reporting and protecting the eBay brand.”