The government of deer through his Department of Justice, sued eBay for the sale of products that do not comply with laws prohibiting the sale of products that are harmful to human health. Among them, the presence of devices that override vehicle emissions controls.
The complaint was made for Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and it said the company “offered for sale or caused to be sold more than 343,000 devices that override emissions controls in vehicles, a violation of Clean Air Act (CAA, Clean Air Act).
The problem with these devices is their use increases the production of polluting emissions from vehicles particular elements such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons other than methane.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said: “EBay sales of emission control devices, pesticides and other unsafe products have increased unacceptable risks to our communities disproportionately affected by environmental and health hazards.
“Together with our partners, this office will vigorously enforce federal law against those whose behavior endangers public health and the environment,” he concluded.
For his part, Todd Kim, of the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice, added: “Laws prohibiting the sale of products that seriously harm human health and the environment apply to e-commerce retailers. like eBay as it applies to physical stores.”
For its part, eBay responded to the accusations by issuing an official statement in which it announced that “the government’s actions are unprecedented and eBay intends to vigorously defend itself.”
“We dedicate significant resources, implement the latest technology and we ensure that our teams are well trained to prevent illegal items from appearing in the market”, they emphasized.
The entire legal process has just begun, but the US government will seek civil penalties that, if the lawsuit is successful, could result in fines totaling millions of dollars.
