eBay Sued By Federal Authorities For Selling Dangerous Products: DOJ

SAN JOSE, CA — Federal authorities are suing eBay after the online marketplace sold and distributed hundreds of thousands of products that threaten human health and the environment, according to officials.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed the complaint against the San Jose-based company in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, officials said.

“Laws that prohibit selling products that can severely harm human health and the environment apply to e-commerce retailers like eBay just as they do to brick-and-mortar stores,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim, of the department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, in a news release.

eBay was involved in the sale of over 343,000 aftermarket defeat devices, which override vehicle emission controls, increasing pollution and violating the Clean Air Act, according to the department.

The business also violated the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act with its involvement in the distribution or sale of at least 23,000 pesticides, including those with a high toxicity banned in the U.S., with restricted use, and fraudulently claiming to protect against COVID-19, authorities said. The commercial activity continued despite an EPA stop order in 2020 that was amended in 2021, according to the department.

Additionally, eBay distributed over 5,600 items containing methylene chloride for paint and coating removal in violation of the Toxic Substances Control Act, authorities said.

The complaint seeks a court order that eBay violated several laws and requests injunctive relief and civil penalties, according to the department.

"Maintaining a safe and trusted marketplace for our global community of sellers and buyers is a fundamental principle of our business at eBay,” the company said in a prepared statement.

“We dedicate significant resources, implement state-of-the-art technology and ensure our teams are properly trained to prevent prohibited items from being listed on the marketplace. Indeed, eBay is blocking and removing more than 99.9% of the listings for the products cited by the DOJ, including millions of listings each year. And eBay has partnered closely with law enforcement, including the DOJ, for over two decades on identifying emerging risks and assisting with prevention and enforcement.

"The Government's actions are entirely unprecedented and eBay intends to vigorously defend itself."