Online retailer eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) could be fined as much as $2 billion by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) for allegedly violating environmental laws with products sold on its platform, according to a report by CNBC.
The DOJ said in a September 27, 2023, statement that it was suing the online platform for violating the Clean Air Act and other environmental laws by allowing the sale of several harmful products. These included so-called "rolling coal" devices, which defeat automobile pollution controls.
Rolling coal refers to the installation of tampering devices into a vehicle's diesel engine to emit large amounts of black or grey exhaust fumes.
The DOJ alleged that eBay has allowed more than 343,000 of the illegal devices to be sold on its platform, per the report. The company can be fined up to $5,580 for each Clean Air Act violation, according to documents filed in a federal court.
The DOJ’s complaint also alleged that eBay has violated the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) by unlawfully distributing or selling at least 23,000 unregistered, misbranded or restricted-use pesticide products. That was in violation of an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stop-sale order issued to eBay in 2020 and amended in 2021, it added.
eBay said it intends to “vigorously defend itself” against the government’s actions, noting that it has partnered closely with law enforcement, including the DOJ, for over two decades on identifying emerging risks and assisting with prevention and enforcement.
"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,” the company said in a statement.
“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.”
eBay’s shares were down 0.12% in Friday pre-market trading. They fell 1% to $422.63 on Thursday.
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