Coverage spread: 2 sources — 1 center · 1 international
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eBay and several of its former executives have agreed to pay a combined $56 million to David and Ina Steiner, the Massachusetts couple behind the e-commerce newsletter EcommerceBytes, settling more than six years of litigation stemming from a 2019 harassment campaign carried out by eBay employees in retaliation for the couple’s critical coverage of the company. The settlement, announced Tuesday, includes about $7 million earmarked for charitable donations, some directed to organizations that support First Amendment and press-freedom causes.
The harassment campaign, which came to light through a 2020 Department of Justice indictment, saw former eBay employees send the Steiners a series of disturbing anonymous items: a bloody pig Halloween mask, a funeral wreath, live insects, and a book about coping with the death of a spouse. Some employees also traveled to the couple’s home in Natick, Massachusetts, attempting to secretly place a GPS tracking device on their car, and harassed them with abusive messages on Twitter (now X). Seven former eBay employees ultimately pleaded guilty to criminal charges between 2022 and 2024. An FBI agent involved in the case described the conduct at the time as an “unprecedented, relentless, and over-the-top harassment campaign.” eBay itself was criminally charged, entering a deferred prosecution agreement with prosecutors and paying a separate $3 million fine.
The Wenig Text and eBay’s Apology
A central piece of evidence in the case was a 2019 text message from then-CEO Devin Wenig to eBay’s top communications executive, instructing him to “take her down” in reference to Ina Steiner. Wenig, who left eBay in 2019, is personally contributing $1 million to the settlement — a sum his representatives say will go to an unnamed charity devoted to First Amendment protections, gifted in Ina Steiner’s name. Wenig said no one should have endured what the Steiners went through, calling the episode something he regrets having occurred on his watch, while a spokesperson maintained his “take her down” text referred to a public-relations effort to counter alleged inaccuracies in Ina Steiner’s reporting rather than a literal instruction. eBay, in its own statement, called the treatment of the Steiners “wrong, reprehensible” and said it should never have happened, also acknowledging what it termed the “unprofessional tone” of internal communications involving Wenig, former Chief Communications Officer Steve Wymer, and former Senior Vice President Wendy Jones. The company said the behavior does not reflect its current culture and pointed to leadership changes and strengthened ethics policies since 2019.
How the Coverage Compares
The BBC and Fortune largely agree on the core facts — the $56 million total settlement figure (with Fortune emphasizing “almost $50 million” from eBay plus an additional $7 million in charitable giving), the graphic details of the harassment, Wenig’s $1 million personal contribution, and eBay’s public apology. Where the two outlets diverge is in emphasis and legal detail. The BBC focuses more heavily on the criminal side of the story, detailing the guilty pleas of seven former executives, eBay’s deferred prosecution agreement and $3 million DOJ fine, and includes a fuller quote from the Steiners’ attorney, Christopher Murphy of Scalli Murphy Law, stating the resolution sends a message that corporations “cannot engage in this type of misconduct without facing significant consequences.”
Fortune, by contrast, provides more procedural context about the civil case’s tortuous path to resolution — noting that the parties had reached a tentative settlement back in February as the case approached trial, but failed to finalize it, prompting the Steiners to ask a federal judge in June to reopen proceedings before the final agreement was reached. Fortune also highlights that the settlement contains no confidentiality clause, a detail the Steiners’ side reportedly insisted upon so they could continue speaking publicly about their ordeal, and includes Murphy’s characterization of the case as an “attack on free speech and freedom of the press,” and a “warning” to big business against suppressing speech. Fortune additionally notes the settlement requires eBay to issue a public statement addressing the former executives’ conduct — a specific settlement term the BBC does not detail explicitly, though eBay’s quoted apology in both pieces appears to fulfill that requirement. Both outlets quote eBay’s identical statement calling the conduct “wrong, reprehensible.”
Why It Matters
The case is widely seen as a rare instance of a major corporation and its top leadership facing both criminal prosecution and substantial personal and corporate financial liability for retaliating against journalists and critics. The Steiners’ ordeal — targeted simply for running a niche trade newsletter critical of eBay’s practices — has become a touchstone in debates over corporate accountability, workplace ethics, and protections for small, independent publishers covering powerful companies. The settlement’s charitable component directed at First Amendment causes, along with the lack of a confidentiality agreement, underscores the emphasis both the plaintiffs and their attorneys placed on using the outcome to send a broader deterrent message rather than simply closing the matter quietly.
Sources
Featured photo: Lippincott Studio/Adrian Frutiger (typeface). via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)