eBay Stalking Scandal
14 days ago
- #Cyberstalking
- #Free Speech
- #Corporate Scandal
- The eBay stalking scandal involved a 2019 campaign by eBay employees to harass and stalk Ina and David Steiner, bloggers of EcommerceBytes, due to their negative coverage of eBay.
- Seven eBay employees, including senior security personnel, were convicted for their roles in the harassment, which included sending threatening items like a bloody pig mask, live insects, and a funeral wreath.
- The harassment was allegedly motivated by eBay executives' frustration with the Steiners' critical reporting, with texts from executives like 'Take her down' and 'I want to see ashes' surfacing as evidence.
- eBay faced legal consequences, including a $3 million criminal penalty, and several employees received prison sentences ranging from 13 months to 57 months.
- The Steiners filed a civil lawsuit against eBay and former executives, including ex-CEO Devin Wenig and former Chief Communications Officer Steve Wymer, with the trial set for March 2025.
- Internal investigations led to the firing of implicated employees, though top executives like Wenig and Wymer were not criminally charged, with Wenig receiving a $57 million severance.
- The scandal highlighted corporate overreach and the lengths to which a company might go to silence critics, raising concerns about free speech and corporate accountability.