In a significant legal development, the U.S. Department of Justice has taken legal action against eBay, accusing the company of breaking the law by selling and facilitating the sale of devices that can manipulate emissions standards, which is a direct violation of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

The official complaint, filed on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), claims that eBay has been involved in selling or helping to sell more than 343,000 aftermarket defeat devices. For those not familiar with the term, defeat devices are mechanisms that significantly increase the amount of harmful pollutants released into the air, including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, nonmethane hydrocarbons and particulate matter. These pollutants pose serious health risks to the public, and these devices also hinder the efforts of local and state authorities to maintain clean air standards, which is a matter of grave concern.

The lawsuit aims to secure legal solutions to stop eBay from further violating the Clean Air Act. This includes seeking court orders to prevent eBay’s involvement in such activities in the future, known as “injunctive relief.” Additionally, the government is pursuing civil penalties, which could potentially result in heavy financial penalties, possibly reaching into the millions of dollars.

This legal action is a component of a wider initiative to ensure that corporations are held responsible for their actions when those actions put the environment and public health at risk. U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York expressed concern about eBay’s actions, stating that selling emission control defeat devices and other unsafe products poses unacceptable risks, especially to communities already disproportionately impacted by environmental and health hazards. The office, in collaboration with its partners, is committed to enforcing federal law against those whose conduct endangers the public and the environment.

Todd Kim from the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division reiterated this viewpoint, underscoring that regulations preventing the sale of items that can significantly endanger both human health and the environment are applicable to online marketplaces such as eBay in the same way they are to brick-and-mortar retail establishments.

In addition to the allegations related to defeat devices, eBay is also accused of selling illegal pesticides and prohibited items containing restricted chemicals. Specifically, the government contends that eBay has violated the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act by distributing or selling at least 23,000 unregistered, misbranded, or restricted-use pesticide products. These transgressions took place despite the EPA’s issuance of a sales cessation order to eBay in 2020, which was later modified in 2021. Among the items involved are hazardous insecticides prohibited in the United States, limited-use pesticides designated solely for certified applicators, and items making inaccurate claims of safeguarding against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The legal proceedings against eBay raise important questions about the company’s role as an intermediary between buyers and sellers. While eBay maintains that it invests significant resources and uses advanced technology to prevent prohibited items from being listed on its platform, the allegations challenge the extent to which the company can be held responsible for the actions of independent sellers.

eBay has responded to these allegations by arguing that the government’s actions are unprecedented, and the company intends to vigorously defend itself. They emphasize their ongoing efforts to proactively block and remove listings for the products cited by the Department of Justice, claiming a success rate of more than 99.9% in this regard, which amounts to millions of listings each year. This legal dispute between eBay and the U.S. Government will unquestionably be closely monitored to discern the result and the potential consequences it might carry for the obligations and legal responsibilities of online marketplaces in instances of illicit sales.