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Commitments and Contingencies
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2024
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies Commitments and Contingencies
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

As of March 31, 2024, we had no off-balance sheet arrangements that have, or are reasonably likely to have, a current or future material effect on our consolidated financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources.

Litigation and Other Legal Matters
 
We are involved in legal and regulatory proceedings on an ongoing basis. If we believe that a loss arising from such matters is probable and can be reasonably estimated, we accrue the estimated liability in our financial statements. If only a range of estimated losses can be determined, we accrue an amount within the range that, in our judgment, reflects the most likely outcome; if none of the estimates within that range is a better estimate than any other amount, we accrue the low end of the range. For those proceedings in which an unfavorable outcome is reasonably possible but not probable, we have disclosed an estimate of the reasonably possible loss or range of losses or we have concluded that an estimate of the reasonably possible loss or range of losses arising directly from the proceeding (i.e., monetary damages or amounts paid in judgment or settlement) is not material. If we cannot estimate the probable or reasonably possible loss or range of losses arising from a proceeding, we have disclosed that fact. In assessing the materiality of a proceeding, we evaluate, among other factors, the amount of monetary damages claimed, as well as the potential impact of non-monetary remedies sought by plaintiffs (e.g., injunctive relief) that may require us to change our business practices in a manner that could have a material adverse impact on our business.

Amounts accrued for legal and regulatory proceedings for which we believe a loss is probable were not material for the three months ended March 31, 2024. We have concluded, based on currently available information, that reasonably possible losses arising directly from the proceedings (i.e., monetary damages or amounts paid in judgment or settlement) in excess of our recorded accruals are also not material. However, legal and regulatory proceedings are inherently unpredictable and subject to significant uncertainties. If one or more matters were resolved against us in a reporting period for amounts in excess of management’s expectations, the impact on our operating results or financial condition for that reporting period could be material. Legal fees are expensed as incurred.

The Company has responded to inquiries from the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) regarding products sold on the Marketplace platforms alleged to violate certain laws administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and, separately, laws administered by the Drug Enforcement Agency (“DEA”). The inquiries relate to whether and to what extent the Company should be liable for the sale of regulated or illicit products manufactured and sold by others who listed such products on Marketplace platforms in a manner that evaded and/or was designed to evade detection by the Company.

On September 27, 2023, DOJ, on behalf of the EPA, filed a civil complaint against the Company in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York alleging violations of the Clean Air Act, Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act and the Toxic Substances Control Act. The Company intends to vigorously defend against these claims. If the Company is found to be liable for such activities on the Marketplace, it likely will be subject to monetary damages, changes in our business practices, or other remedies that could have a material adverse impact on our business. The Company is unable to predict whether additional litigation or proceedings may arise out of this matter.

On January 31, 2024, the DEA, DOJ and the Company entered into a settlement agreement (the “DEA Settlement Agreement”), which fully resolved DOJ’s allegations of noncompliance arising under the Controlled Substances Act. Pursuant to the DEA Settlement Agreement, the Company paid $59 million and agreed to implement enhanced processes regarding its monitoring and reporting of listings that violate the Company’s policies.
In January 2024, the Company also entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (the “DPA”) with the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts (the “U.S. Attorney”) regarding potential criminal liability of the Company arising from the stalking and harassment in 2019 of the editor and publisher of Ecommercebytes, a website that publishes ecommerce news and information. Six former Company employees and one former contractor have pleaded guilty to crimes arising from the conduct. Pursuant to the terms of the DPA, the U.S. Attorney filed a six-count criminal Information in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts in January 2024 and agreed to defer any prosecution of the Company on those counts. Additionally, during the three-year term of the DPA, the Company is subject to an independent compliance monitor to assess its compliance program and, where appropriate, to modify that program. The Company also paid a $3 million penalty. If the Company successfully meets its obligations under the DPA, after three years, the DPA will expire, and the U.S. Attorney has agreed to dismiss the criminal Information against the Company. The editor and publisher also have a pending civil action against the Company arising from the above-described conduct.

In connection with the matters described above, the Company has accrued for probable losses of $64 million in the aggregate as of March 31, 2024. Given the uncertainties involved, the ultimate resolution of these matters could result in additional losses that may be material to our financial results for a particular period, depending on, among other factors, the size of the loss or liability imposed and the level of our net income or loss for that period.

Indemnification Provisions

We entered into a separation and distribution agreement and various other agreements with PayPal to govern the separation and relationship of the two companies. These agreements provide for specific indemnity and liability obligations and could lead to disputes between us and PayPal, which may be significant. In addition, the indemnity rights we have against PayPal under the agreements may not be sufficient to protect us and our indemnity obligations to PayPal may be significant.

In addition, we have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our directors, executive officers and certain other officers. These agreements require us to indemnify such individuals, to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law, for certain liabilities to which they may become subject as a result of their affiliation with us.

In the ordinary course of business, we have included limited indemnification provisions in certain of our agreements with parties with which we have commercial relations, including our standard marketing, promotions and application programming interface license agreements. Under these contracts, we may indemnify, hold harmless and agree to reimburse the indemnified party for losses suffered or incurred by the indemnified party in connection with claims by a third party with respect to intellectual property infringement, including to our trademarks, logos and proprietary software, and other branding elements, such as domain names, to the extent that such are applicable to our performance under the subject agreement. In certain cases, we have agreed to provide indemnification for gross negligence, willful misconduct, fraud and breach of representations, warranties and applicable law. It is not possible to determine the maximum potential loss under these indemnification provisions due to our limited history of prior indemnification claims and the unique facts and circumstances involved in each particular provision. To date, losses recorded in our consolidated statement of income in connection with our indemnification provisions have not been significant, either individually or collectively.