The grievance alleges that eBay offered 343,000 aftermarket defeat units, which illegally subvert motorized vehicle emission controls in violation of the Clear Air Act. These units permit gas-powered autos to go emissions checks whereas persevering with to emit noxious chemical substances, together with carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and nonmethane hydrocarbons.
The grievance alleges that eBay offered 343,000 aftermarket defeat units, which illegally subvert motorized vehicle emission controls in violation of the Clear Air Act
The corporate can also be accused of promoting or facilitating the sale of 23,000 “unregistered, misbranded or restricted-use pesticide merchandise,” in violation of a stop-sale order issued by the Environmental Safety Company towards eBay in 2020. These merchandise embody “a excessive toxicity insecticide banned in the USA, restricted use pesticides that solely licensed applicators could apply and merchandise fraudulently claiming to guard customers towards the SARS-CoV-2 virus.”
eBay can also be alleged to have offered over 5,600 merchandise that comprise paint or coating with methylene chloride, which might trigger sickness and loss of life. The US bans the sale of such merchandise below the Poisonous Substances Management Act.
The Justice Division and the EPA are searching for to dam eBay from promoting such merchandise which have been recognized to hazard public well being and hurt the setting, the companies stated in a press release.
“Legal guidelines that prohibit promoting merchandise that may severely hurt human well being and the setting apply to e-commerce retailers like eBay simply as they do to brick-and-mortar shops,” stated Assistant Legal professional Normal Todd Kim of the Justice Division’s Surroundings and Pure Assets Division, in a press release. “We’re dedicated to stopping the illegal sale and distribution of emissions-defeating units and harmful chemical substances that, if used improperly, can result in dire penalties for people and communities.”
In its protection, eBay stated work was already underway to dam the sale of harmful merchandise when the Justice Division filed its lawsuit. The corporate claimed to have partnered with legislation enforcement, together with DOJ for “over 20 years” on stopping dangerous gadgets from being offered on its platform.
“We dedicate vital assets, implement state-of-the-art expertise and guarantee our groups are correctly skilled to stop prohibited gadgets from being listed on {the marketplace},” the corporate stated in an unsigned assertion. “Certainly, eBay is obstructing and eradicating greater than 99.9% of the listings for the merchandise cited by the DOJ, together with hundreds of thousands of listings every year.”
It added, “The Authorities’s actions are fully unprecedented and eBay intends to vigorously defend itself.”
This isn’t the primary time eBay has been focused by a federal lawsuit. Over a decade in the past, the DOJ sued the corporate for illegally colluding with monetary software program firm Intuit by allegedly refusing to rent its workers. The 2 sides settled the go well with in 2014, with eBay agreeing to not enter any anticompetitive hiring agreements for 5 years.
