Soundoks Mix Review: This Loud-Ass Party Speaker Almost Got Me High AF
Party speakers aren’t really my thing. It’s not that I don’t like to party—I do. Not in a “friends and family surprise you at your house for a serious talk” kind of way, but in a “mid-30s, I have sh*t to do in the morning” kind of way. Really, I just don’t like to annoy people more than I have to.
New York City isn’t known for its serenity, but it takes a certain level of decorum to get along, and party speakers, with their inherent obnoxiousness, break a very tenuous code. They’re big (not great for small living spaces), loud (not great for proximate neighbors), and expensive (not great for paying rent on time). They’re, in many ways, antithetical to what most New Yorkers (and other urban-dwelling people) look for in personal audio.
They’re also, as I learned in my experience using the 21-pound Soundboks Mix party speaker, actually a great way to make friends.
Soundboks Mix
The Soundboks Mix is a party speaker that’s loud and portable with decent sound.
Loud!
Still pretty portable despite its size
Sound is pretty good
Sound is good but not great
No way to get battery readings from the app
Underwhelming EQ options
Party speakers are pricey and so is the Soundboks Mix
This speaker goes to 11
Party speakers are first and foremost meant for parties, and the $800 Soundbox Mix is no different. Soundboks is known for its Bluetooth speakers and, in particular, for making ones that get ridiculously loud. In case you had any doubt about the loudness, the Soundboks Mix even has a volume dial on the side that goes to 11 instead of 10, Spinal Tap-style.
To test out that volume, I went to Washington Square Park in Manhattan and let loose. The Soundboks Mix is indeed loud, folks. It didn’t quake the Earth upon which we walk or anything like that, but it’s got juice. I tested the party speaker at a range of volumes playing music across different genres—mostly rock, but some electronic music and soul—and the park got an earful. I can’t say for certain, but I’m pretty sure I chased off two guys hitting a volleyball around. You heard it here first: if you hate people playing volleyball, the Soundboks Mix is a repellent.
It’s hard to quantify volume into words, but if I were to try, I would say that the Soundboks Mix is loud enough for a graduation party or a medium-sized quinceañera. It’s not going to bring down the house like a full PA, but if you’re outside within a frisbee distance of the speaker, you’re going to hear it. I also tested the Soundboks Mix briefly at full volume in my office playing Creed’s “One Last Breath,” and it was loud enough to make me feel like we could get kicked out, both for the Creed and the volume.
Maybe I’m masochistic, but I was actually expecting it to be a little louder—maybe I’m just old and have bad hearing, though. I guess it’s good that it isn’t. Permanent hearing loss isn’t high on my list of occupational hazards.
One thing you’ll be happy to know is that the Soundboks Mix isn’t just loud; it also manages to stave off distortion even at high volumes. Even at 11 out of 11, the Soundboks Mix sounded pretty clear, both from close up and from about 30 feet away. This isn’t the most impressive speaker I’ve heard in the sound department—you’re not getting Sonos outside—but for a party, where people need volume and not necessarily fidelity, it does the trick.
I played a few Steely Dan songs at 50% volume and was pleased with the soundstage. There’s a tasteful amount of low end that doesn’t drown out mids and highs. Vocals were clear, and I never felt like I was sorely lacking in any frequency range. Likewise, when I played songs like “Digital Love” by Daft Punk, the bass was present and tangible without overpowering, and auto-tuned vocals didn’t sound tinny or cheap. Using a party speaker outside isn’t the most high-fidelity way to listen to anything, but for what the experience is, I think the Soundboks Mix is pretty solid.
If you absolutely need more volume and you have the budget, you can also couple the Soundboks Mix with another Soundboks speaker and use them in pairs in stereo mode. I was only sent one speaker for review, so I didn’t get a chance to test that feature out, but I assume it kicks everything up a notch, as celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse would say.
Loudness and audio quality aren’t the only things you have to consider when you’re looking at party speaker. You also have to think about rolling joints.
Portability is friendability
If there’s one thing that party speakers aren’t known for, it’s being easy to carry around. To get loud, they have to be big—that’s literally just how physics works. But how big is too big? It’s difficult to strike a balance between giving you enough oomph to really project into a party and enough portability so that you don’t feel like you need to rent an ATV just to drag the speaker down the beach. Having carried the speaker from my office to Washington Square Park, which is about 0.3 miles according to Google Maps, I can say for certain that the experience wasn’t so bad.
There’s a built-in handle, which helps, but to be honest, it does weigh 21.4 pounds, so putting all the weight on one hand is a bit much. If you’re moving the Soundboks Mix over longer distances, I would recommend either holding it to your chest like a baby or buying one of Soundboks’ first-party straps that can hook to the speaker, allowing you to sling it over your back. Soundboks didn’t send over a strap for me to try, so I went with the baby method, which was fine, if not ideal.
Its portability also helped make me a friend, who asked me to play some music while he rolled joints. I don’t smoke weed because it makes me feel like the world is ending, but my new friend did offer to share, which was a nice gesture. His first sound request was Beyoncé’s “Me, Myself, and I,” which honestly sounded pretty good at full volume.
The whole thing was kind of heart-warming, really. It’s how I imagine people felt about boomboxes back in the day, when portable ways to play weren’t easy to come by. And I assume the experience is a lot better than it used to be from a convenience standpoint—especially because of the battery.
One cool thing about the Soundboks Mix is that it has a removable battery that you can just pull out and top up with USB-C. That also means you can hot swap it if you really need a new battery ASAP, though you’ll have to buy an extra for $150. There’s also an app for convenience, but it’s pretty barebones.
I like that you can adjust volume from the Soundboks app as well as EQ—there are presets for indoor and outdoor as well as custom EQ if you’re feeling picky. I’ll be honest, I didn’t hear a huge difference between the outdoor and indoor EQs, but according to the bars, the outdoor EQ brings down the mids just a tad, letting bass and treble take the lead.
There is,however, a way to get quick battery readings, which is just odd. Soundboks claims that the Mix gets 8 hours of battery at full volume, though it was hard to get a read since the only way to monitor battery life was to use one of the five circular light indicators on the battery itself. You have to press the button and then just go off those increments and vibes. It’s not ideal. I played the Soundboks Mix for an hour at 60% volume, and none of the five circles dropped out, so take that for what you will.
Outside of volume adjustment and EQ, you can also turn the Soundboks Mix off through the app and initiate the “TeamUp” feature to pair the Mix with other Soundboks speakers. It’s nice to be able to adjust the volume remotely, but to be honest, the built-in volume dial on the Soundboks mix feels so nice and premium (it’s metal and there’s plenty of resistance) that I didn’t want to adjust the volume any other way. Button-wise, there’s also a power button and a button for the TeamUp feature that allows you to pair speakers together. There’s also a “Bond” button that can cycle through modes when you’re using TeamUp and Bluetooth connections. Lastly, there’s a 3.5mm aux in if that’s your thing.
The Soundboks Mix keeps things pretty simple design-wise, but one nice touch is the inclusion of rubber balls on the bottom of each corner, which makes setting it down feel safe and easy. You also won’t have to worry about the Soundboks Mix getting fried in the rain, either. The speaker is IP65-rated, meaning it’s resistant to dust and water, and if you get caught in the rain, you should be fine.
Listen, $800 is a lot of money to spend on a speaker, even if it can get as loud as a chainsaw. This isn’t something that you’re going to want to use all the time, and it certainly isn’t the most versatile speaker in the world, but no party speaker really is. If you’re looking for something that gets loud, sounds good, and can be built out to get even louder and more obnoxious, the Soundboks Mix is not a bad pick. It helps that it’s still somewhat portable despite its loudness, too, so if you plan on hauling this to the beach or something, it’s not an insurmountable task.
Party speakers aren’t for everyone, but if they’re for you, then the Mix might be a great way to make friends and maybe get a little high on someone else’s supply.
Party speakers aren’t really my thing. It’s not that I don’t like to party—I do. Not in a “friends and family surprise you at your house for a serious talk” kind of way, but in a “mid-30s, I have sh*t to do in the morning” kind of way. Really, I just don’t like to annoy people more than I have to.
New York City isn’t known for its serenity, but it takes a certain level of decorum to get along, and party speakers, with their inherent obnoxiousness, break a very tenuous code. They’re big (not great for small living spaces), loud (not great for proximate neighbors), and expensive (not great for paying rent on time). They’re, in many ways, antithetical to what most New Yorkers (and other urban-dwelling people) look for in personal audio.
They’re also, as I learned in my experience using the 21-pound Soundboks Mix party speaker, actually a great way to make friends.
Soundboks Mix
The Soundboks Mix is a party speaker that’s loud and portable with decent sound.
Loud!
Still pretty portable despite its size
Sound is pretty good
Sound is good but not great
No way to get battery readings from the app
Underwhelming EQ options
Party speakers are pricey and so is the Soundboks Mix
This speaker goes to 11
Party speakers are first and foremost meant for parties, and the $800 Soundbox Mix is no different. Soundboks is known for its Bluetooth speakers and, in particular, for making ones that get ridiculously loud. In case you had any doubt about the loudness, the Soundboks Mix even has a volume dial on the side that goes to 11 instead of 10, Spinal Tap-style.
To test out that volume, I went to Washington Square Park in Manhattan and let loose. The Soundboks Mix is indeed loud, folks. It didn’t quake the Earth upon which we walk or anything like that, but it’s got juice. I tested the party speaker at a range of volumes playing music across different genres—mostly rock, but some electronic music and soul—and the park got an earful. I can’t say for certain, but I’m pretty sure I chased off two guys hitting a volleyball around. You heard it here first: if you hate people playing volleyball, the Soundboks Mix is a repellent.
It’s hard to quantify volume into words, but if I were to try, I would say that the Soundboks Mix is loud enough for a graduation party or a medium-sized quinceañera. It’s not going to bring down the house like a full PA, but if you’re outside within a frisbee distance of the speaker, you’re going to hear it. I also tested the Soundboks Mix briefly at full volume in my office playing Creed’s “One Last Breath,” and it was loud enough to make me feel like we could get kicked out, both for the Creed and the volume.
Maybe I’m masochistic, but I was actually expecting it to be a little louder—maybe I’m just old and have bad hearing, though. I guess it’s good that it isn’t. Permanent hearing loss isn’t high on my list of occupational hazards.
One thing you’ll be happy to know is that the Soundboks Mix isn’t just loud; it also manages to stave off distortion even at high volumes. Even at 11 out of 11, the Soundboks Mix sounded pretty clear, both from close up and from about 30 feet away. This isn’t the most impressive speaker I’ve heard in the sound department—you’re not getting Sonos outside—but for a party, where people need volume and not necessarily fidelity, it does the trick.
I played a few Steely Dan songs at 50% volume and was pleased with the soundstage. There’s a tasteful amount of low end that doesn’t drown out mids and highs. Vocals were clear, and I never felt like I was sorely lacking in any frequency range. Likewise, when I played songs like “Digital Love” by Daft Punk, the bass was present and tangible without overpowering, and auto-tuned vocals didn’t sound tinny or cheap. Using a party speaker outside isn’t the most high-fidelity way to listen to anything, but for what the experience is, I think the Soundboks Mix is pretty solid.
If you absolutely need more volume and you have the budget, you can also couple the Soundboks Mix with another Soundboks speaker and use them in pairs in stereo mode. I was only sent one speaker for review, so I didn’t get a chance to test that feature out, but I assume it kicks everything up a notch, as celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse would say.
Loudness and audio quality aren’t the only things you have to consider when you’re looking at party speaker. You also have to think about rolling joints.
Portability is friendability
If there’s one thing that party speakers aren’t known for, it’s being easy to carry around. To get loud, they have to be big—that’s literally just how physics works. But how big is too big? It’s difficult to strike a balance between giving you enough oomph to really project into a party and enough portability so that you don’t feel like you need to rent an ATV just to drag the speaker down the beach. Having carried the speaker from my office to Washington Square Park, which is about 0.3 miles according to Google Maps, I can say for certain that the experience wasn’t so bad.
There’s a built-in handle, which helps, but to be honest, it does weigh 21.4 pounds, so putting all the weight on one hand is a bit much. If you’re moving the Soundboks Mix over longer distances, I would recommend either holding it to your chest like a baby or buying one of Soundboks’ first-party straps that can hook to the speaker, allowing you to sling it over your back. Soundboks didn’t send over a strap for me to try, so I went with the baby method, which was fine, if not ideal.
Its portability also helped make me a friend, who asked me to play some music while he rolled joints. I don’t smoke weed because it makes me feel like the world is ending, but my new friend did offer to share, which was a nice gesture. His first sound request was Beyoncé’s “Me, Myself, and I,” which honestly sounded pretty good at full volume.
The whole thing was kind of heart-warming, really. It’s how I imagine people felt about boomboxes back in the day, when portable ways to play weren’t easy to come by. And I assume the experience is a lot better than it used to be from a convenience standpoint—especially because of the battery.
One cool thing about the Soundboks Mix is that it has a removable battery that you can just pull out and top up with USB-C. That also means you can hot swap it if you really need a new battery ASAP, though you’ll have to buy an extra for $150. There’s also an app for convenience, but it’s pretty barebones.
I like that you can adjust volume from the Soundboks app as well as EQ—there are presets for indoor and outdoor as well as custom EQ if you’re feeling picky. I’ll be honest, I didn’t hear a huge difference between the outdoor and indoor EQs, but according to the bars, the outdoor EQ brings down the mids just a tad, letting bass and treble take the lead.
There is,however, a way to get quick battery readings, which is just odd. Soundboks claims that the Mix gets 8 hours of battery at full volume, though it was hard to get a read since the only way to monitor battery life was to use one of the five circular light indicators on the battery itself. You have to press the button and then just go off those increments and vibes. It’s not ideal. I played the Soundboks Mix for an hour at 60% volume, and none of the five circles dropped out, so take that for what you will.
Outside of volume adjustment and EQ, you can also turn the Soundboks Mix off through the app and initiate the “TeamUp” feature to pair the Mix with other Soundboks speakers. It’s nice to be able to adjust the volume remotely, but to be honest, the built-in volume dial on the Soundboks mix feels so nice and premium (it’s metal and there’s plenty of resistance) that I didn’t want to adjust the volume any other way. Button-wise, there’s also a power button and a button for the TeamUp feature that allows you to pair speakers together. There’s also a “Bond” button that can cycle through modes when you’re using TeamUp and Bluetooth connections. Lastly, there’s a 3.5mm aux in if that’s your thing.
The Soundboks Mix keeps things pretty simple design-wise, but one nice touch is the inclusion of rubber balls on the bottom of each corner, which makes setting it down feel safe and easy. You also won’t have to worry about the Soundboks Mix getting fried in the rain, either. The speaker is IP65-rated, meaning it’s resistant to dust and water, and if you get caught in the rain, you should be fine.
Listen, $800 is a lot of money to spend on a speaker, even if it can get as loud as a chainsaw. This isn’t something that you’re going to want to use all the time, and it certainly isn’t the most versatile speaker in the world, but no party speaker really is. If you’re looking for something that gets loud, sounds good, and can be built out to get even louder and more obnoxious, the Soundboks Mix is not a bad pick. It helps that it’s still somewhat portable despite its loudness, too, so if you plan on hauling this to the beach or something, it’s not an insurmountable task.
Party speakers aren’t for everyone, but if they’re for you, then the Mix might be a great way to make friends and maybe get a little high on someone else’s supply.
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#Soundoks #Mix #Review #LoudAss #Party #Speaker #High
Before Denis Villeneuve came aboard as the next James Bond movie director, another intriguing project was sitting in his potential “to-do” pile: an adaptation of Nuclear War: A Scenario, Annie Jacobsen‘s 2024 book that uses extensive interviews and research to examine, minute by minute, what would happen if nuclear war broke out. Her latest book sounds very much in that same vein; it’s titled Biological War: A Scenario, and though it’s just been released today, it’s already been scooped up for adaptation.
Variety reports that Patrick Macmanus (the creator of Peacock’s Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy) secured the rights to a television adaptation for his production company; he and Jacobsen will co-create and serve as executive producers on Biological War.
The book takes a close look at the seconds, minutes, hours, and days after the release of a microscopic agent that could bring down civilization if it’s allowed to spread across the globe. And it’s a weapon, not unlike The Stand‘s Captain Trips, so presumably the show will include a heavy government-military aspect to things as well.
“What begins with a routine day leads to the end of the world six days later,” Macmamus told Variety. “But it isn’t ultimately a nihilistic show. Yes. There’s the dark excitement and exploration of the apocalypse. But there’s a parallel story of the instinct to protect and rebuild. A celebration of community and family. The wish-fulfillment of starting the human experiment over again in the hopes of getting it right this time around.”
The Variety piece mentions the potential Villeneuve adaptation of Nuclear War, so maybe we’ll get to see that on screens eventually too. So far, there’s no streamer or network locked in for Biological War, but the trade writes “the television adaptation will be taken out to buyers in the upcoming weeks.”
Before Denis Villeneuve came aboard as the next James Bond movie director, another intriguing project was sitting in his potential “to-do” pile: an adaptation of Nuclear War: A Scenario, Annie Jacobsen‘s 2024 book that uses extensive interviews and research to examine, minute by minute, what would happen if nuclear war broke out. Her latest book sounds very much in that same vein; it’s titled Biological War: A Scenario, and though it’s just been released today, it’s already been scooped up for adaptation.
Variety reports that Patrick Macmanus (the creator of Peacock’s Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy) secured the rights to a television adaptation for his production company; he and Jacobsen will co-create and serve as executive producers on Biological War.
The book takes a close look at the seconds, minutes, hours, and days after the release of a microscopic agent that could bring down civilization if it’s allowed to spread across the globe. And it’s a weapon, not unlike The Stand‘s Captain Trips, so presumably the show will include a heavy government-military aspect to things as well.
“What begins with a routine day leads to the end of the world six days later,” Macmamus told Variety. “But it isn’t ultimately a nihilistic show. Yes. There’s the dark excitement and exploration of the apocalypse. But there’s a parallel story of the instinct to protect and rebuild. A celebration of community and family. The wish-fulfillment of starting the human experiment over again in the hopes of getting it right this time around.”
The Variety piece mentions the potential Villeneuve adaptation of Nuclear War, so maybe we’ll get to see that on screens eventually too. So far, there’s no streamer or network locked in for Biological War, but the trade writes “the television adaptation will be taken out to buyers in the upcoming weeks.”
#Annie #Jacobsens #Biological #War #ComingAnnie Jacobsen,Biological War">Annie Jacobsen’s ‘Biological War’ Is Coming to TV
Before Denis Villeneuve came aboard as the next James Bond movie director, another intriguing project was sitting in his potential “to-do” pile: an adaptation of Nuclear War: A Scenario, Annie Jacobsen‘s 2024 book that uses extensive interviews and research to examine, minute by minute, what would happen if nuclear war broke out. Her latest book sounds very much in that same vein; it’s titled Biological War: A Scenario, and though it’s just been released today, it’s already been scooped up for adaptation.
Variety reports that Patrick Macmanus (the creator of Peacock’s Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy) secured the rights to a television adaptation for his production company; he and Jacobsen will co-create and serve as executive producers on Biological War.
The book takes a close look at the seconds, minutes, hours, and days after the release of a microscopic agent that could bring down civilization if it’s allowed to spread across the globe. And it’s a weapon, not unlike The Stand‘s Captain Trips, so presumably the show will include a heavy government-military aspect to things as well.
“What begins with a routine day leads to the end of the world six days later,” Macmamus told Variety. “But it isn’t ultimately a nihilistic show. Yes. There’s the dark excitement and exploration of the apocalypse. But there’s a parallel story of the instinct to protect and rebuild. A celebration of community and family. The wish-fulfillment of starting the human experiment over again in the hopes of getting it right this time around.”
The Variety piece mentions the potential Villeneuve adaptation of Nuclear War, so maybe we’ll get to see that on screens eventually too. So far, there’s no streamer or network locked in for Biological War, but the trade writes “the television adaptation will be taken out to buyers in the upcoming weeks.”
Back in 2020, six former eBay employees and one contractor were charged with participating in a horrifying campaign—featuring doxxing, threats, and deliveries of live pests—against David and Ina Steiner, the husband-and-wife founders of the Massachusetts-based news site EcommerceBytes. The Steiners wrote about eBay regularly, and often not in a flattering light. In 2021, the couple filed a civil suit; EBay later agreed to pay a $3 million criminal penalty to the US Attorney’s Office in the District of Massachusetts.
Now the civil litigation case just reached a final settlement. The Steiners will receive more than $46.15 million from eBay, $2 million from Wenig, $500,000 from former eBay executive Wendy Jones, and $50,000 from former eBay executive Steve Wymer.
EBay is also giving $6 million to charity, with an additional $1 million from Wenig going to a nonprofit that protects First Amendment rights. The company is required to issue a strongly worded statement condemning the actions of the former employees who were involved.
Notably, the settlement contains no confidentiality provision, which means the Steiners can continue to speak out about the case.
“From day one, that was a dealbreaker,” says Chris Murphy, an attorney for the Steiners at the personal injury firm Scalli Murphy Law in Everett, Massachusetts. “As journalists, and as victims, the Steiners were very clear that they wanted everyone to see and understand what eBay did to them. And from day one, they were ready to go to trial over it.”
“It’s a relief in some sense that we have some finality,” David Steiner said in an interview with WIRED. “But I think that it’s going to take a while to really see what this means in the bigger context of a settlement, versus having gone to trial. We were really adamant that this type of behavior by a Fortune 500 corporation didn’t go unchecked.”
Ina Steiner underscored that the couple ultimately pursued a civil suit because they wanted to better understand the kind of culture that precipitated this harassment campaign—and that in filing the civil suit, they gained access to 68,000 documents they would not have otherwise seen. “We were often in the dark during the federal investigation, and we were told very little as victims,” she said.
Spokespersons for eBay referred WIRED to a statement published online, in which the company extended its “deepest apologies” to the Steiners, condemned the employees who “perpetrated and pled guilty to criminal charges for the misconduct against Ina and David Steiner,” and acknowledged “the unprofessional tone in internal communications demonstrated, to different degrees and number, by Mr. Wenig, Mr. Wymer, and Ms. Jones.” The company emphasized that new leadership is now in charge, and that the incidents from 2019 are “not representative of eBay’s culture or thousands of employees around the world today.”
According to the initial criminal complaints, the harassment campaign led by eBay executives and contractors unfolded over a period of two months in the summer 2019. It began with anonymous, threatening Twitter DMs to the Steiners, then quickly escalated to deliveries to the couple’s home. These deliveries included a bloody pig mask, pornography, a package of fly larvae and live spiders, and another package containing live cockroaches. Other deliveries were themed around death, including a copy of a book on grieving a spouse and a funeral wreath from a local florist. All throughout, the anonymous Twitter account continued to send harassing messages. As text messages would later reveal in court documents, those DMs and deliveries were concocted and sent by the defendants.
Back in 2020, six former eBay employees and one contractor were charged with participating in a horrifying campaign—featuring doxxing, threats, and deliveries of live pests—against David and Ina Steiner, the husband-and-wife founders of the Massachusetts-based news site EcommerceBytes. The Steiners wrote about eBay regularly, and often not in a flattering light. In 2021, the couple filed a civil suit; EBay later agreed to pay a $3 million criminal penalty to the US Attorney’s Office in the District of Massachusetts.
Now the civil litigation case just reached a final settlement. The Steiners will receive more than $46.15 million from eBay, $2 million from Wenig, $500,000 from former eBay executive Wendy Jones, and $50,000 from former eBay executive Steve Wymer.
EBay is also giving $6 million to charity, with an additional $1 million from Wenig going to a nonprofit that protects First Amendment rights. The company is required to issue a strongly worded statement condemning the actions of the former employees who were involved.
Notably, the settlement contains no confidentiality provision, which means the Steiners can continue to speak out about the case.
“From day one, that was a dealbreaker,” says Chris Murphy, an attorney for the Steiners at the personal injury firm Scalli Murphy Law in Everett, Massachusetts. “As journalists, and as victims, the Steiners were very clear that they wanted everyone to see and understand what eBay did to them. And from day one, they were ready to go to trial over it.”
“It’s a relief in some sense that we have some finality,” David Steiner said in an interview with WIRED. “But I think that it’s going to take a while to really see what this means in the bigger context of a settlement, versus having gone to trial. We were really adamant that this type of behavior by a Fortune 500 corporation didn’t go unchecked.”
Ina Steiner underscored that the couple ultimately pursued a civil suit because they wanted to better understand the kind of culture that precipitated this harassment campaign—and that in filing the civil suit, they gained access to 68,000 documents they would not have otherwise seen. “We were often in the dark during the federal investigation, and we were told very little as victims,” she said.
Spokespersons for eBay referred WIRED to a statement published online, in which the company extended its “deepest apologies” to the Steiners, condemned the employees who “perpetrated and pled guilty to criminal charges for the misconduct against Ina and David Steiner,” and acknowledged “the unprofessional tone in internal communications demonstrated, to different degrees and number, by Mr. Wenig, Mr. Wymer, and Ms. Jones.” The company emphasized that new leadership is now in charge, and that the incidents from 2019 are “not representative of eBay’s culture or thousands of employees around the world today.”
According to the initial criminal complaints, the harassment campaign led by eBay executives and contractors unfolded over a period of two months in the summer 2019. It began with anonymous, threatening Twitter DMs to the Steiners, then quickly escalated to deliveries to the couple’s home. These deliveries included a bloody pig mask, pornography, a package of fly larvae and live spiders, and another package containing live cockroaches. Other deliveries were themed around death, including a copy of a book on grieving a spouse and a funeral wreath from a local florist. All throughout, the anonymous Twitter account continued to send harassing messages. As text messages would later reveal in court documents, those DMs and deliveries were concocted and sent by the defendants.
#Ebay #Pay #Million #Settlement #Unhinged #Harassment #Campaignebay,harassment,crime,surveillance">Ebay Has to Pay $55.7 Million in Settlement for Its Unhinged Harassment Campaign
A civil litigation case against eBay, filed by the founders of a Massachusetts-based news site that covers ecommerce, has just been settled. The gist of it: The company and former execs have to own up to—and pay up for—perhaps the most disturbing harassment campaign ever led by a giant tech company against its critics.
Back in 2020, six former eBay employees and one contractor were charged with participating in a horrifying campaign—featuring doxxing, threats, and deliveries of live pests—against David and Ina Steiner, the husband-and-wife founders of the Massachusetts-based news site EcommerceBytes. The Steiners wrote about eBay regularly, and often not in a flattering light. In 2021, the couple filed a civil suit; EBay later agreed to pay a $3 million criminal penalty to the US Attorney’s Office in the District of Massachusetts.
Now the civil litigation case just reached a final settlement. The Steiners will receive more than $46.15 million from eBay, $2 million from Wenig, $500,000 from former eBay executive Wendy Jones, and $50,000 from former eBay executive Steve Wymer.
EBay is also giving $6 million to charity, with an additional $1 million from Wenig going to a nonprofit that protects First Amendment rights. The company is required to issue a strongly worded statement condemning the actions of the former employees who were involved.
Notably, the settlement contains no confidentiality provision, which means the Steiners can continue to speak out about the case.
“From day one, that was a dealbreaker,” says Chris Murphy, an attorney for the Steiners at the personal injury firm Scalli Murphy Law in Everett, Massachusetts. “As journalists, and as victims, the Steiners were very clear that they wanted everyone to see and understand what eBay did to them. And from day one, they were ready to go to trial over it.”
“It’s a relief in some sense that we have some finality,” David Steiner said in an interview with WIRED. “But I think that it’s going to take a while to really see what this means in the bigger context of a settlement, versus having gone to trial. We were really adamant that this type of behavior by a Fortune 500 corporation didn’t go unchecked.”
Ina Steiner underscored that the couple ultimately pursued a civil suit because they wanted to better understand the kind of culture that precipitated this harassment campaign—and that in filing the civil suit, they gained access to 68,000 documents they would not have otherwise seen. “We were often in the dark during the federal investigation, and we were told very little as victims,” she said.
Spokespersons for eBay referred WIRED to a statement published online, in which the company extended its “deepest apologies” to the Steiners, condemned the employees who “perpetrated and pled guilty to criminal charges for the misconduct against Ina and David Steiner,” and acknowledged “the unprofessional tone in internal communications demonstrated, to different degrees and number, by Mr. Wenig, Mr. Wymer, and Ms. Jones.” The company emphasized that new leadership is now in charge, and that the incidents from 2019 are “not representative of eBay’s culture or thousands of employees around the world today.”
According to the initial criminal complaints, the harassment campaign led by eBay executives and contractors unfolded over a period of two months in the summer 2019. It began with anonymous, threatening Twitter DMs to the Steiners, then quickly escalated to deliveries to the couple’s home. These deliveries included a bloody pig mask, pornography, a package of fly larvae and live spiders, and another package containing live cockroaches. Other deliveries were themed around death, including a copy of a book on grieving a spouse and a funeral wreath from a local florist. All throughout, the anonymous Twitter account continued to send harassing messages. As text messages would later reveal in court documents, those DMs and deliveries were concocted and sent by the defendants.
The free Lego offers at Lego.com have refreshed again. One option for the end of July would make a great back-to-school gift (or a cute stocking stuffer idea for kids, if you’re thinking that far ahead): Get a free pack of four fun Lego straw toppers plus the straws themselves and a straw cleaning brush with any order of $65 or more.
The Lego Straw Topper Set includes four precious silicone buddies: a robot, a dinosaur, a cat, and an ice cream cone. The pastel straws included are much cuter and less wasteful than getting a new plastic straw at school or the drive-thru all the time.
Back to the gift ideas thing: Now would be a smart time to grab the Lego set you’ve been wanting to give someone. Your $65 purchase could be one big Lego purchase or a combination of a few less expensive sets. Remember, preorders do count as a purchase that unlocks free Legos. Our favorite new Lego sets to preorder right now include the Spongebob Squarepants: Bikini Bottom set and Donkey Kong Pinball set.
The free Lego offers at Lego.com have refreshed again. One option for the end of July would make a great back-to-school gift (or a cute stocking stuffer idea for kids, if you’re thinking that far ahead): Get a free pack of four fun Lego straw toppers plus the straws themselves and a straw cleaning brush with any order of $65 or more.
The Lego Straw Topper Set includes four precious silicone buddies: a robot, a dinosaur, a cat, and an ice cream cone. The pastel straws included are much cuter and less wasteful than getting a new plastic straw at school or the drive-thru all the time.
Back to the gift ideas thing: Now would be a smart time to grab the Lego set you’ve been wanting to give someone. Your $65 purchase could be one big Lego purchase or a combination of a few less expensive sets. Remember, preorders do count as a purchase that unlocks free Legos. Our favorite new Lego sets to preorder right now include the Spongebob Squarepants: Bikini Bottom set and Donkey Kong Pinball set.
#Backtoschool #gift #idea #free #Lego #set #cute #straw #toppers #straws">Back-to-school gift idea: How to get a free Lego set of cute straw toppers and straws
FREE LEGO SET: Through July 31, spending $65 at Lego.com gets you a free Lego Straw Topper Set. It includes four cute silicone straw toppers, four reusable straws, and a straw cleaner.
The free Lego offers at Lego.com have refreshed again. One option for the end of July would make a great back-to-school gift (or a cute stocking stuffer idea for kids, if you’re thinking that far ahead): Get a free pack of four fun Lego straw toppers plus the straws themselves and a straw cleaning brush with any order of $65 or more.
The Lego Straw Topper Set includes four precious silicone buddies: a robot, a dinosaur, a cat, and an ice cream cone. The pastel straws included are much cuter and less wasteful than getting a new plastic straw at school or the drive-thru all the time.
Back to the gift ideas thing: Now would be a smart time to grab the Lego set you’ve been wanting to give someone. Your $65 purchase could be one big Lego purchase or a combination of a few less expensive sets. Remember, preorders do count as a purchase that unlocks free Legos. Our favorite new Lego sets to preorder right now include the Spongebob Squarepants: Bikini Bottom set and Donkey Kong Pinball set.
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