(Photo: by Justin Sullivan/Getty Image) SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 22: A sign is posted in front of eBay headquarters on February 22, 2023, in San Jose, California. E-commerce company eBay will report fourth-quarter earnings today.
eBay could face fines of up to $2 billion for allegedly facilitating the delivery and sale of millions of items that considerably increase the amount of pollution that diesel pickup trucks emit.
Aftermarket Rolling Coal Devices
According to a Justice Department complaint lodged in federal court in Brooklyn, the e-commerce giant is accused of allowing more than 343,000 aftermarket "rolling coal" devices, designed to neutralize motor vehicle emission controls, to be sold on its platform in violation of the Clean Air Act, reported by CBS News.
Each gadget sold by eBay between November 2015 and January 2023 was subject to a $5,580 fine, according to the federal agency's case, which was brought on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Some drivers seem to use the devices as an anti-environmental protest of sorts, targeting electric or hybrid vehicles like Teslas and Priuses or bicyclists, using products that override autos' emissions controls to boost a diesel truck's power and to enable it to spew a plume of black exhaust in what's known as a "roll coal."
Because of the nitrogen oxide discharged into the atmosphere, coal rolling is a significant source of air pollution, according to the EPA. According to a study, breathing in exhaust fumes increases a person's risk of getting respiratory conditions including bronchitis and asthma.
The EPA also alleges that eBay sold at least 23,000 pesticide goods illegally, including over 5,600 items that included the dangerous chemical methylene chloride and a high-toxicity insecticide that was banned in the United States.
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What eBay is Doing
The government's actions were deemed unusual by eBay, which promised to protect itself. The business is already "blocking and removing more than 99.9 percent of the listings for the products cited by the DOJ, including millions of listings each year," the online retailer said in a statement.
The business said that it works with law enforcement to stop third parties from putting unlawful or hazardous products up for sale on its marketplace.
Manufacturer of components Sinister Mfg. The Justice Department reported in August that Co. admitted guilt and agreed to pay $1 million in fines for interfering with a diesel truck's emissions control system monitoring device.
According to the government, the business sold close to 40,000 defeat devices, including at least 35,960 kits that disable exhaust gas recirculation systems in vehicles.
Only a few states have laws that directly forbid the practice, including Maine, Utah, New Jersey, Maryland, Colorado, and Connecticut.
Four bikers were hospitalized in September 2021 after a 16-year-old in Texas was accused of running over them while attempting to "roll coal" past them. The teenager was charged with six felonies of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, one for each injured rider.
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