eBay and former execs will pay $56M to settle harassment of Natick couple
bostonglobe.comWow. This is still going on? I've always still been amused to see the Deferred Prosecution Agreement link at the bottom of every page on eBay, but... just wow.
[eBay chief communications officer Steve] Wymer texted [head of eBay security Jim] Baugh that Ina Steiner was a "biased troll who needs to be BURNED DOWN"; that he wanted "to see ashes"; and that Baugh should do "whatever it takes."
And no jail time for the ex-CEO? This society has got to stop protecting all the sociopaths.
Here's a more in-depth article: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/07/ebay-former-exec...
Pretty much everyone they could pin down was sent to prison, which is relatively rare for harassment cases.Seven former eBay employees and contractors pleaded guilty, and prison sentences were issued to former eBay security executives James Baugh (57 months), David Harville (24 months), Philip Cooke (18 months), and Stephanie Popp (12 months). Two others received a year in home confinement and another was sentenced to time served and a year of supervised release.That's what I also found unsettling.
Multiple submissions on this. Other sources:
- TechCrunch: <https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/28/ebay-reaches-56m-settlemen...>
- ECommerceBytes: <https://www.ecommercebytes.com/C/blog/blog.pl?/pl/2026/7/178...>
- Reuters: <https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/ebay-former-executi...>
- AP News: <https://apnews.com/article/ebay-settlement-d0886f1036e198f77...>
- NY Times: <https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/technology/ebay-settles-s...> (archive: <https://archive.ph/GD3IR>)
- Ars Technica: <https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/07/ebay-former-exec...>
- BBC: <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj039p238r5o>
- The Guardian: <https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jul/28/ebay-hara...>