The U.S. Justice Department filed a civil complaint against eBay this week, claiming the online marketplace unlawfully sold and distributed hundreds of thousands of products like pesticides and motor vehicle emission-evading devices that violate environmental laws.
The government’s lawsuit alleges eBay unlawfully distributed or sold at least 23,000 pesticides that were unregistered, misbranded or intended only for restricted use. The Justice Department said that the pesticides include a high toxicity insecticide banned in the US, a restricted use pesticide that only certified applicators may apply and a product falsely claiming to protect users against the virus that causes COVID-19.
In addition, the complaint claims eBay distributed more than 5,600 painting and coating removal products that include methylene chloride.
eBay said that it is blocking and removing more than 99.9% of the listings for the products cited by the Justice Department, including millions of listings each year.
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Not the first time
The U.S. Environmental protection Agency (EPA) previously issued orders against eBay. In 2021 the agency ordered the company to stop selling 170 unregistered and misbranded pesticide products.
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Amazon also on the chopping block
In 2018 the EPA announced a $1.2 million settlement with Amazon over the sale and distribution of illegal pesticides. Federal regulators said at the time that the agreement settled allegations that Amazon committed nearly 4,000 violations between 2013 and 2016 for selling and distributing imported pesticide products not licensed for sale in the United States.
The EPA issued a “stop-sale” order in 2021 requiring Amazon to take down listings for dozen of products the agency said posed a health risk to people and pets exposed to the products.
The EPA also ordered Amazon and eBay to stop selling a variety of pesticide products in June 2020 that included some that falsely claimed to provide protection against the coronavirus.
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Source: AP
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