The Environmental Protection Agency has been on a crusade against aftermarket car modifications, an effort it’s stepped up recently. Caught up in the push for punitive measures against anyone who sells what unelected federal regulators define as an “emissions defeat device” is none other than online retail giant eBay. The company is facing a staggering $2 billion in fines.
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In an official announcement, the Justice Department says eBay is accused of selling over 343,000 aftermarket defeat devices. Considering many car parts, some of them aftermarket modifications, are sold on the site that’s entirely possible.
The federal government wants to hold eBay responsible. It’s likely some of the companies that produced those devices being labeled as emissions defeats have already been fined, if not all of them. Like we said before, the EPA and DOJ have been on a real tear lately, hitting big and small aftermarket companies and even race shops alike.
As pointed out by Business Insider, the practice has been to fine a company $5,580 per emissions defeat device sold. For some aftermarket manufacturers and marketplaces this has resulted in millions of dollars, putting them out of business. We can’t help but wonder if that was the intention or just the icing on the cake for the EPA.
But we haven’t seen a fine anywhere near $2 billion. But wait, there’s more. The DOJ wants to hit eBay for allegedly selling 23,000-plus “unregistered, misbranded or restricted-use pesticide products.” If you were doing the math before, that’s how the fines will reach at least $2 billion.
Can eBay absorb such costs? The company reported $9.8 billion in revenue for 2022, so it should survive. But this could mean layoffs and other painful cuts are possible.
It’s also possible eBay is able to work out a settlement for less than the $2 billion.
We’ll see what target the EPA hits next in this crusade.
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