eBay reaches $56M settlement with e-commerce newsletter writers it terrorized in 2019

Core Impact Points

• eBay has agreed to pay $56 million to a newsletter-writing couple who were targeted by the company's former executives in a harassment campaign in 2019.
• The couple, Ina and David Steiner, were subjected to threatening letters, bizarre items in the mail, and even a plot to affix a GPS tracking device to their car.
• Seven former eBay employees were criminally charged and pled guilty in relation to the plot, including the company's former security chief, James Baugh.
• The settlement resolves a 2021 civil case brought by the couple against eBay and includes payments from former eBay executives Devin Wenig, Wendy Jones, and Steve Wymer.
• The case highlights the importance of protecting journalists and publishers from corporate intimidation and harassment.
• The settlement includes payments to various non-profits, with a total of $46.15 million paid to the couple by eBay itself.