Технологийн салбарын мэдээллийн сайт эрхлэгчдийг дарамталж, заналхийлсэн хэргийн улмаас eBay компани 50 орчим сая ам.долларын нөхөн төлбөр олгохоор тохиролцлоо.
eBay компани EcommerceBytes цахим хуудсыг үүсгэн байгуулагч Дэвид болон Ина Стайнер нарт учруулсан хохирлыг барагдуулахаар 46.15 сая ам.доллар, мөн тус компанийн хуучин гүйцэтгэх захирал Дэвин Вениг тэргүүтэй албан тушаалтнууд хувиасаа нэмэлт төлбөр төлөхөөр болжээ. Энэхүү эвлэрлийн хүрээнд нийт 50 орчим сая ам.долларыг хохирогчдод олгохоос гадна, үзэл бодлоо илэрхийлэх эрх чөлөөг дэмжих байгууллагуудад 7 сая ам.долларын хандив өргөхөөр шийдвэрлэсэн байна. Талуудын байгуулсан гэрээнд нууцлалын ямар нэгэн нөхцөл заагаагүй тул хохирогчид болсон явдлын талаар олон нийтэд чөлөөтэй ярих боломжтой болжээ.
2019 онд eBay компанийн ажилтнууд тус сонины нийтлэлд дургүйцсэний улмаас сэтгүүлчдийн гэрт амьд шавж, оршуулгын цэцгэн хэлхээ, цустай гахайн баг зэрэг зүйлсийг илгээж, тандалт хийх зэргээр удаа дараа дарамталсан байна. Энэхүү хэрэгтэй холбогдуулан 2020 онд холбооны прокурорууд eBay-ийн долоон ажилтныг ялласан бөгөөд ихэнх нь гэм буруугаа хүлээн зөвшөөрч, хорих ял эсвэл гэрийн хорионд оржээ. Мөн 2024 онд eBay компани холбооны байгууллагуудтай байгуулсан хойшлуулсан яллах тухай хэлэлцээрийн дагуу 3 сая ам.долларын торгууль төлсөн юм.
eBay компани болсон явдалд албан ёсоор уучлалт гуйж, тухайн үеийн удирдлагуудын ёс зүйгүй үйлдлийг буруушаав. Компанийн зүгээс энэ хэрэг нь тэдний соёл биш гэдгийг мэдэгдэж, удирдлагын өөрчлөлт хийхээс гадна бодлого, дүрэм журам болон ёс зүйн сургалтыг чангатгасан гэдгээ онцолсон байна. Хохирогчдын хуулийн төлөөлөгч энэхүү шийдвэр нь томоохон корпорациуд хэвлэл мэдээллийн эрх чөлөөг боомилох оролдлого хийвэл хариуцлага хүлээдэг гэдгийг харуулсан чухал жишиг боллоо хэмээн дүгнэв.
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eBay Inc. has agreed to pay nearly $50 million to a Massachusetts couple who endured a campaign of threats and bizarre anonymous deliveries, including live insects, a funeral wreath, and a bloody pig Halloween mask, orchestrated by former employees of the company.
The settlement, details of which were released Tuesday, resolves a protracted legal battle stemming from the harassment.
The agreement with David and Ina Steiner, founders of EcommerceBytes, a newsletter covering the e-commerce industry, includes an additional $7 million in charitable donations, with funds directed to organizations supporting First Amendment rights. Attorney Christopher Murphy, representing the Steiners, said the resolution serves as “a warning that attempts by big business to suppress speech and the press will not be tolerated.”
Murphy, of Massachusetts-based Scalli Murphy Law, said, “This was not only an attack and campaign of harassment against two people; it was also an attack on free speech and freedom of the press.”
The settlement contains no confidentiality provision, allowing the Steiners to speak openly about their ordeal, a condition their attorney said his clients insisted upon.
This resolution concludes more than six years of criminal and civil proceedings. In their 2021 lawsuit filed in Boston federal court, the Natick residents alleged that eBay engaged in a conspiracy to “intimidate, threaten to kill, torture, terrorize, stalk and silence them” to “stifle their reporting on eBay.” They reported experiencing cyberstalking, death threats, and in-person surveillance by former eBay workers.
The settlement also mandates that eBay issue a public statement addressing the conduct of former executives involved in the case.
The company reiterated its apology Tuesday, stating, “What the Steiners were subjected to by former eBay employees in 2019 was wrong, reprehensible and should never have happened.”
eBay also acknowledged “the unprofessional tone in internal communications” by former CEO Devin Wenig, former Chief Communications Officer Steve Wymer, and former Senior Vice President Wendy Jones.
The company asserted that the conduct “is not representative of eBay’s culture” and highlighted changes in leadership, strengthened policies, procedures, and ethics training since the incidents.
In 2020, federal prosecutors charged seven former eBay employees, alleging they carried out a coordinated harassment campaign after becoming angered by the couple’s online newsletter coverage. Most defendants pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy and cyberstalking, subsequently receiving prison terms or home confinement. In 2024, eBay Inc. itself agreed to pay a $3 million criminal penalty under a deferred prosecution agreement with federal authorities.
Federal prosecutors detailed the harassment, which included anonymous deliveries of items like live cockroaches and spiders, a funeral wreath, and a bloody pig face mask to the couple’s home. The employees also sent pornographic magazines with the husband’s name to a neighbor’s home and planned to break into the couple’s garage to install a GPS device on their car.
Under the settlement, the Steiners will receive $48.7 million in compensation, including $46.15 million from eBay, $2 million from former CEO Wenig, $500,000 from former executive Jones and $50,000 from former executive Wymer.
The company will fund $6 million in charitable contributions to various nonprofit organizations, with Wenig contributing an additional $1 million to a charity dedicated to protecting First Amendment rights in Ina Steiner’s name.
Murphy cited the substantial recovery amount, personal payments by former executives, the $7 million commitment to nonprofits, and the absence of a confidentiality provision as crucial elements.
He noted that in many cases, “wrongdoers too often hide their misdeeds by dangling compensation in front of those they victimized and trading that compensation for confidentiality or an NDA.”
He concluded, “We believe this resolution sends a clear message that corporations and their executives cannot engage in this type of misconduct without facing significant consequences.”
