eBay agrees to pay $56 million following its harassment campaign involving bloody pig masks.

      The most troubling corporate harassment case in recent tech history comes with a hefty price tag. eBay and three of its former executives will pay almost $56 million to the couple they targeted for producing a critical newsletter.

      David and Ina Steiner, who reside in Natick, Massachusetts, manage EcommerceBytes, a modest newsletter focused on online retailing. In 2019, their reporting upset senior eBay executives sufficiently that the company launched a campaign to silence them. Following six years and a criminal investigation, the civil lawsuit has finally been resolved.

      What they received

      The particulars still sound almost fictional. eBay employees dispatched live cockroaches and spiders to the Steiners’ residence, along with a funeral wreath, a pig mask covered in blood, and a book on coping with the loss of a spouse. They sent pornographic magazines under David's name to a neighbor and issued online threats against the couple through fake profiles.

      The harassment escalated into physical actions. Staff members traveled from California to Massachusetts to surveil the couple and attempted to attach a GPS tracker to their vehicle. One unexecuted plan involved sending a "Samoan gang" to their home. This escalation was partly triggered by an article titled “eBay CEO Devin Wenig Earns 152 Times That of Employees.”

      The language used in the messages

      Court documents reveal the casual nature in which these actions were ordered. Wenig, who was the CEO at the time, texted that it was time to "take her down," referring to Ina Steiner. Steve Wymer, the head of communications, took it a step further, as reported by Ars Technica. He expressed a desire to see "ashes," stating, "As long as it takes. Whatever it takes."

      Seven eBay employees and contractors pleaded guilty, with the former security chief, James Baugh, sentenced to nearly five years in prison. eBay itself incurred a $3 million criminal fine in 2024. The original charges were reported back in 2020. Wenig and Wymer were never charged and both deny being aware of the consequences of their directives.

      Why the monetary figure isn’t the main focus

      The total payout breaks down into $46.15 million from eBay, $2 million from Wenig, $500,000 from former operations chief Wendy Jones, and $50,000 from Wymer, along with $6 million for charity and another $1 million from Wenig to a press-freedom organization in Ina Steiner’s name.

      For eBay, this amount is trivial. The company generates over $3 billion in revenue quarterly, so $46 million is merely a minor adjustment, the type of sum large corporations typically spend to quietly resolve an issue. However, this case won't be quietly forgotten. The Steiners declined a confidentiality agreement, resulting in no NDA, an open court file, and eBay being compelled to issue a public statement condemning the conduct as "wrong" and "reprehensible," while acknowledging the "unprofessional tone" of its former executives.

      The true consequence

      What the couple has genuinely achieved goes beyond financial compensation; they have secured the right to continue discussing their experience. “This was not just a harassment campaign targeting two individuals,” said their lawyer Christopher Murphy. “It was also an assault on free speech and press freedom.”

      Ina Steiner echoed this sentiment in a statement to the Associated Press. She and her husband insisted on publicizing the agreement, as they are journalists who advocate for transparency, hoping “this case will serve as a deterrent.” A company that sought to erase its critics has been held accountable in a way that is open for public inspection. As tech companies confront juries over issues of addiction and product design, this public acknowledgment may hold greater significance than the financial implications.