eBay has agreed to pay a $3 million nice in reference to a company cyberstalking marketing campaign concentrating on a Massachusetts couple in 2019. The cyberstalking marketing campaign was performed by a number of eBay workers, a few of whom had been executives, who focused the couple after they posted a e-newsletter that was essential of the e-commerce big. The cyberstalking marketing campaign concerned the staff sending the couple a bloody pig masks, a fetal pig, a funeral wreath, dwell bugs and a ebook on surviving the demise of a partner.
The US Legal professional’s Workplace for the District of Massachusetts introduced the nice on Thursday and revealed that the corporate dedicated six felonies. eBay was charged with two counts of stalking by interstate journey, two counts of stalking by digital communications companies, one rely of witness tampering and one rely of obstruction of justice.
eBay admitted that Jim Baugh, eBay’s former Senior Director of Security and Safety, and 6 different members of the corporate’s safety group focused the couple after they revealed a e-newsletter that reported on problems with curiosity to eBay sellers. Baugh and the opposite workers then executed a harassment marketing campaign with the intent of intimidating the victims into altering the content material of the e-newsletter.
The workers visited the couple’s dwelling and put in a GPS monitoring gadget on their automotive. In addition they created advertisements on Craigslist inviting the general public for sexual encounters on the victims’ dwelling. As well as, the staff despatched personal Twitter messages and public tweets criticizing the e-newsletter’s content material.
Baugh was sentenced to 57 months in jail in September 2022, whereas the opposite six workers had been sentenced to various punishments, starting from two years in jail to dwelling confinement.
“eBay engaged in completely horrific, felony conduct,” mentioned Appearing United States Legal professional Joshua S. Levy in a press launch. “The corporate’s workers and contractors concerned on this marketing campaign put the victims by pure hell, in a petrifying marketing campaign aimed toward silencing their reporting and defending the eBay model. We left no stone unturned in our mission to carry accountable each particular person who turned the victims’ world upside-down by a unending nightmare of menacing and felony acts.”
Along with paying the nice, eBay can be required to retain an unbiased company compliance monitor for 3 years and to make “in depth enhancements to its compliance program.”
eBay mentioned in a press launch at this time that it takes duty for the misconduct of the previous workers.
“The corporate’s conduct in 2019 was incorrect and reprehensible,” mentioned eBay CEO Jamie Iannone within the press launch. “From the second eBay first realized of the 2019 occasions, eBay cooperated absolutely and extensively with legislation enforcement authorities. We proceed to increase our deepest apologies to the Steiners for what they endured. Since these occasions occurred, new leaders have joined the corporate and eBay has strengthened its insurance policies, procedures, controls and coaching.
