A U.S. government lawsuit accusing eBay of selling nearly 350,000 polluting and polluting products – including pesticides and “defeat” devices that allow motor vehicles to bypass emissions controls – has been dismissed by a federal judge. On Monday, District Judge Orelia Merchant ruled that eBay is not liable for items users sell on the digital marketplace because Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act provides civil defenses for online platforms.
Under Section 230, online platforms cannot be held responsible for content hosted unless they “assisted in the development of what made the content unlawful.” The lawsuit filed last year by the U.S. Department of Justice alleged that eBay violated the Clean Air Act (CAA) by knowingly selling or offering for sale illegal products.
The retailer dismissed the DOJ's lawsuit, saying eBay must “own or own an item” to be considered a seller. The merchant also ruled that the administrative and technical support eBay provides to sellers, such as messaging, email notifications and payment processing, does not materially contribute to the “alleged illegality” of illegal products.