Cyber-stalking Settlement
eBay and Former Executives Agree to Pay $55.7 Million to Settle Cyber-stalking Lawsuit
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EBay and three of its former top executives have agreed to pay $55.7 million to settle a lawsuit brought by David and Ina Steiner, a Massachusetts couple who were targeted in a coordinated cyber-stalking campaign, according to Omaha World-Herald. The Steiners, who publish an e-commerce newsletter called EcommerceBytes, were harassed in retaliation for their coverage of eBay.
The settlement ends a case filed in Boston federal court in 2021. eBay will pay the couple $46.15 million directly, fund $6 million in charitable contributions to nonprofits, and issue a formal statement about the conduct of its former executives, Buffalo News reported.
A Bizarre Stalking Campaign Ordered From the Top
The harassment campaign against the Steiners was anything but ordinary. According to Tulsa World, eBay employees sent the couple live spiders, a bloody pig mask, and a funeral wreath. Operatives also traveled to their home in Natick, Massachusetts, to surveil them in person. The goal was to intimidate the couple into softening their newsletter coverage of eBay.
The campaign was traced back to eBay's former head of global security and other senior leaders. Kearney Hub reported that three former top executives are named in the settlement alongside eBay itself. The harassment was systematic and directed from within the company's leadership.
Seven eBay Employees Pleaded Guilty, Got Prison Time
Seven former eBay employees pleaded guilty to participating in the stalking campaign. Sentences reached as high as 57 months in prison, according to Waco Tribune-Herald. The criminal cases wrapped up before the Steiners' civil lawsuit was resolved.
eBay itself also faced criminal charges. In 2024, the company agreed to pay a $3 million fine as part of a deferred prosecution agreement, Channel 3000 reported. That deal required eBay to take steps to fix its internal oversight and prevent future misconduct.
$55.7 Million Settlement Closes the Civil Case
The civil settlement covers multiple forms of relief for the Steiners. eBay pays $46.15 million directly to the couple. An additional $6 million goes to nonprofit organizations chosen as part of the deal, according to St. Louis Post-Dispatch. eBay must also release a public statement acknowledging the actions of its former executives.
The three former executives named in the settlement include figures from eBay's senior security and communications teams, Trib reported. Their individual contributions to the $55.7 million total have not been publicly broken out. The settlement closes the last major legal front stemming from the 2019 campaign.
Newsletter Writers Became Targets for Honest Coverage
David and Ina Steiner are not celebrities or activists. They run EcommerceBytes, a small newsletter that covers the online retail industry. eBay executives grew angry over critical articles the Steiners published, according to NWI Times. That anger escalated into a months-long criminal harassment operation.
The case drew wide attention because it showed how far a major corporation's leadership had gone to silence two journalists. Kenosha News noted that the settlement, combined with prison sentences for seven employees and a corporate criminal fine, makes the eBay stalking case one of the most serious corporate harassment cases in recent U.S. history.
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