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My Favorite Laptops, Chromebooks, and Gaming Laptops Are on Sale For Black Friday

My Favorite Laptops, Chromebooks, and Gaming Laptops Are on Sale For Black Friday

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It’s almost the end of the year, and with Black Friday upon us, it’s a great time to buy a laptop. I’ve sorted through the junk to find the best Black Friday laptop deals, and I’m happy to report that most of my favorite laptops I tested this year are on sale right now. Even better, some laptops I thought were overpriced at launch now have such steep discounts that they’ve risen in value in my estimation. So, if you’ve been waiting to buy a laptop at the right moment, this is it. One of these laptops should fit exactly what you’re looking for at a wide range of prices.

Hunting for more deals? Read our Absolute Best Black Friday Deals roundup, and check out our Black Friday liveblog for the highlights.

Updated on November 28: We’ve added the Asus Zenbook A14, Razer Blade 14, and Acer Chromebook Plus 516.

The Best Windows Laptop Deal

  • Photograph: Luke Larsen

  • Image may contain: Computer, Electronics, Laptop, Pc, Computer Hardware, Computer Keyboard, and Hardware

    Photograph: Luke Larsen

  • Image may contain: Computer, Electronics, Laptop, Pc, Computer Hardware, and Hardware

    Photograph: Luke Larsen

If you’re shopping for a laptop on Black Friday, you’re probably looking for something a bit more budget-friendly. And while the MacBook Air is the better laptop, there’s no question that the Dell 14 Plus is the best deal. It comes with great specs: 16 GB of RAM, 512 GB of storage, and an Intel Core Ultra 5 226V. I reviewed the model with the Core Ultra 7 258V, but either way, you’re getting really good battery life and integrated graphics performance.

Most importantly, it avoids the two main pitfalls of budget laptops: poor displays and touchpads. The Dell 14 Plus comes with a high-resolution display (2560 x 1600) and a very smooth-feeling touchpad. It’s literally a premium laptop for an affordable price, and at $500, it’s officially the best deal on a laptop this Black Friday. It’s a doorbuster-style deal, however, so once it’s sold out, the price may change.

The Best MacBook Deal

Front view of an open Apple MacBook Air 13-inch 2025 laptop sitting on a couch with the screen showing the desktop

Photograph: Brenda Stolyar

Apple

MacBook Air (M4, 2025)

Since its launch this spring, the M4 MacBook Air has been the best laptop you can buy. It has also continued to drop in price slowly month after month, now down to just $749. That’s low enough that it’s not worth buying cheaper, older MacBook Airs, such as the M2 model. The difference in performance (and external display support) is worth far more. The M5 model is likely coming sometime in early 2026, but it’ll be a long time before it comes down to the price of the M4 right now. Come and get it while it’s hot.

I’ve collected the best Black Friday MacBook deals here for more recommendations and discussion on which MacBook deal is right for you.

The Best Chromebook Deal

  • Image may contain: Computer, Electronics, Laptop, Pc, Computer Hardware, Computer Keyboard, and Hardware

    Photograph: Luke Larsen

  • Image may contain: Computer, Electronics, Laptop, Pc, Computer Hardware, Computer Keyboard, and Hardware

    Photograph: Luke Larsen

  • Image may contain: Computer, Electronics, Laptop, and Pc

    Photograph: Luke Larsen

There’s never been a Chromebook at this price as good as the Acer Chromebook Plus 516—at least, not at it’s current Black Friday. Despite being a new laptop from this year, it’s great to see the price drop by well under $300, making the higher specs of Chromebook Plus devices accessible to nearly everyone. The display and performance are far and above other Chromebooks at this price though. My biggest pet peeve on budget laptops is the typical low quality of the touchpad. And even there, the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 has a touchpad that you make you hate your life.

Another Good Chromebook Deal

Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus

Courtesy of Lenovo

Lenovo

Flex 5i Chromebook Plus

There are Chromebooks I like more than the Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus (8/10, WIRED Recommends), such as the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14. But none are this cheap. And while the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 above is a better deal, you might want something a bit more compact with a smaller screen—or maybe with a touchscreen. At $350, the Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus is one of the most affordable Chromebook Plus models you can find—it’s in a different league over standard Chromebooks at this price. It has a better screen, faster performance, more storage, and even a crisper webcam. The Flex 5i Chromebook Plus even has a 360-degree hinge and touchscreen, sweetening the deal even more.

The Latest MacBook, Already on Sale

  • Photograph: Luke Larsen

  • Photograph: Luke Larsen

  • Photograph: Luke Larsen

  • Photograph: Luke Larsen

The MacBook Air is a better value, yes. And the M4 Pro or M4 Max MacBooks are more powerful. But the base 14-inch MacBook Pro is the only Mac right now with the latest M5 chip, which launched just a month ago. I wish Apple had included other features in this update, as the M5 is the only change over the M4 model. The good news is that the M5 MacBook Pro (8/10, WIRED Recommends) offers a solid performance increase in all areas, including CPU, GPU, and even the Neural Engine. More important is the $200 discount just a month after it launched.

The Best Gaming Laptop Deal

  • Photograph: Luke Larsen

  • Photograph: Luke Larsen

  • Photograph: Luke Larsen

  • Photograph: Luke Larsen

Want a gaming laptop that doesn’t really feel like a gaming laptop? That’s what the Razer Blade 14 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) has always been good at. If it weren’t for the green snake logo on the lid, you might never know this thing has a powerful discrete GPU inside. You certainly wouldn’t be able to tell from the size of the laptop, which is supremely compact. It even gets decent battery life for a gaming laptop. And when it comes to gaming, the high-resolution, OLED 120-Hz display keeps your games sharp and smooth, while the RTX 5060 (or 5070) deliver some solid performance for the size.

The Best 2-in-1 Laptop Deal

  • Microsoft Surface Pro tablet connected to detachable keyboard, sitting on wooden floor.

    Photograph: Christopher Null

  • Image may contain: Computer, Electronics, Tablet Computer, Computer Hardware, Hardware, and Phone

    Courtesy of Microsoft

  • Image may contain: Sword, Weapon, Baton, and Stick

    Courtesy of Microsoft

  • Closeup of a tablet screen and a slot holding a stylus just above the keyboard

    Photograph: Christopher Null

Microsoft

Surface Pro 13-inch (11th Edition, 2024)

The OLED Surface Pro was excellent when it came out in mid-2024. It was the first time the Surface Pro got an OLED panel, and the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus/Elite chip finally gave this Windows tablet the performance and battery life needed to compete with the iPad Pro. The only problem? It was too expensive. But for Black Friday, the OLED Surface Pro is $500 off, bringing the price down to just $900. The one caveat to remember is that you’ll still need to buy a Surface Type Cover Keyboard to pair it with. Together, you have a 2-in-1 laptop that’s the ultimate travel companion and a full PC replacement.

An Extremely Lightweight Laptop

Front view of the Asus Zenbook A14 laptop while open with the screen showing abstract art

Photograph: Christopher Null

The Asus Zenbook A14 is one of the lightest laptops you can buy right now. At 2.16 pounds, it’s a fair bit lighter even than the MacBook Air. Throw this thing in your bag, and you’ll hardly even notice it’s there. That makes it a great option for students needing to trek across campus or frequent travelers bringing their work on the go. But what really makes this laptop special is the lack of compromises it makes to achieve that weight. It’s well-built, thin, and has a comfortable keyboard and touchpad. And thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus inside, it gets fantastic, all-day battery life. I also really like the glossy OLED display. So, while the Dell 14 Plus is a more well-rounded Windows laptop with a higher-resolution screen, the Zenbook A14’s portability is hard to beat—especially at this price.

A Solid Budget Laptop

Image may contain: Computer, Electronics, Laptop, and Pc

Photograph: Luke Larsen

Asus

Vivobook 14 (X1407QA)

The Asus Vivobook 14 is one of the few Snapdragon X-powered laptops bringing efficient performance and excellent battery life to surprisingly low prices. It’s $200 off for Black Friday, which brings it down to the same price as on the last Amazon Prime Day. There’s really only one problem: the Dell 14 Plus. By every measure, that’s the laptop you should buy. Not only is it cheaper, but it also has a much better display, touchpad, and integrated GPU performance. However, if the limited Doorbuster prices on the Dell 14 Plus have run out, the Asus Vivobook 14 is your next best bet for a Windows laptop around this price.

What to Look for in a Black Friday Laptop Deal

Shopping around for a good Black Friday deal isn’t so different from buying a laptop at any other time of the year. We never recommend products we don’t test ourselves, so if you’re interested in a particular laptop on this list, check out the corresponding review. But as you shop around, you may want to factor in the following specs along with the current price of the laptop:

  • CPU
  • GPU
  • Memory (RAM)
  • Storage
  • Display resolution, panel type, and refresh rate
  • Battery life

Lastly, consider the price history. CamelCamelCamel is a useful tool to see some historical data on price drops for individual laptops. Some of the laptops included above (such as the Dell 14 Plus) are hitting new historic lows in terms of price, while others are returning to the same low price as they were on Prime Day. That doesn’t mean these aren’t a good deal necessarily, but it’s important to know that not every deal labeled “Black Friday Deal” is equal, even if the percentage drop looks similar. Many products these days have permanent discounted prices at retailers, which can obscure how big of a sale it really is.

For an in-depth breakdown that explains each element of a laptop, read our detailed How to Choose the Right Laptop guide.

Is Now a Good Time to Buy a Laptop?

Yes. Black Friday isn’t the only big shopping event throughout the year, and it’s not uncommon to find great sales on laptops at other times, whether that’s on a random day or on Amazon Prime Day(s). But Black Friday remains important as the beginning of the holiday shopping season. The entire annual cycle of laptop refreshes revolves around this timing. The beginning of the year starts with lots of products getting announced at CES, and then launching throughout the year. By the time Black Friday rolls around, companies and retailers are looking to clear out inventory to make room for incoming new stuff, which is why we still often see the biggest discounts for Black Friday.

This year, that timing even applies to MacBooks. Because Apple didn’t refresh any Macs this fall outside the 14-inch M5 MacBook Pro, laptops like the M4 MacBook Air or M4 Pro/Max MacBook Pro are discounted with the anticipation of a refresh coming sometime in early 2026.

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The Department of Defense labeled AI lab Anthropic a supply-chain risk after the company refused to agree to allow the Pentagon to use its models for autonomous weapons systems and domestic surveillance. It seems the company isn’t just winning the moral argument on this front, but the legal one, too. According to Axios, the judge hearing Anthropic’s challenge to the Trump administration’s designation has thus far not found the Pentagon’s case to be particularly compelling.

Per the report, U.S. District Judge Rita Lin wasted little time pouring cold water on the federal government’s position. “I don’t see additional evidence from the government really justifying what it did. If anything, it seems like the record, in some ways, has gotten worse for the government,” she reportedly said.

She also did not seem convinced by the Pentagon’s apparent argument that it was concerned Anthropic would mess with its model to prevent the military from using it how they intended. “I don’t see evidence that Anthropic could alter the model after it was delivered or flip some kind of kill switch,” she said, per Axios.

This doesn’t come as a major surprise, given Judge Lin’s general vibe since this case landed in her court. Back in March when Anthropic first brought its challenge to the government’s designation, the judge said that “it looks like an attempt to cripple Anthropic.” She ultimately granted a temporary injunction on the government’s attempt to basically blacklist the AI firm.

You’ll recall the origin of this whole fight came earlier this year when negotiations between Anthropic and the Department of Defense fell through after the company refused to agree to a deal that would have allowed the Pentagon to use its AI models for “all lawful purposes.” Anthropic reportedly sought to clarify that it would not include using the model to launch weapons without human involvement or to perform surveillance on American citizens. The Pentagon was unwilling to agree to honor Anthropic’s redlines.

Under a normal administration, that would likely just lead to the government moving on to another company. Under the Trump administration, though, refusal to comply makes you an enemy of the country. Trump and company moved to label Anthropic a supply chain risk, a designation typically reserved for foreign adversaries, not domestic companies. Getting slapped with that tag meant the rest of the federal government would have to stop doing business with Anthropic, which would be a blow to the company.

Instead, the whole thing is in limbo—though it’s not looking great for the administration. Of course, they could just cancel the contracts and do business with less scrupulous AI companies. There are plenty willing to abandon their beliefs for a nice, fat contract, after all.

#Pentagons #Case #Anthropic #IsntAnthropic,artifical intelligence,Department of Defense,Lawsuit,pentagon">The Pentagon’s Case Against Anthropic Isn’t Going Well The Department of Defense labeled AI lab Anthropic a supply-chain risk after the company refused to agree to allow the Pentagon to use its models for autonomous weapons systems and domestic surveillance. It seems the company isn’t just winning the moral argument on this front, but the legal one, too. According to Axios, the judge hearing Anthropic’s challenge to the Trump administration’s designation has thus far not found the Pentagon’s case to be particularly compelling. Per the report, U.S. District Judge Rita Lin wasted little time pouring cold water on the federal government’s position. “I don’t see additional evidence from the government really justifying what it did. If anything, it seems like the record, in some ways, has gotten worse for the government,” she reportedly said. She also did not seem convinced by the Pentagon’s apparent argument that it was concerned Anthropic would mess with its model to prevent the military from using it how they intended. “I don’t see evidence that Anthropic could alter the model after it was delivered or flip some kind of kill switch,” she said, per Axios. This doesn’t come as a major surprise, given Judge Lin’s general vibe since this case landed in her court. Back in March when Anthropic first brought its challenge to the government’s designation, the judge said that “it looks like an attempt to cripple Anthropic.” She ultimately granted a temporary injunction on the government’s attempt to basically blacklist the AI firm. You’ll recall the origin of this whole fight came earlier this year when negotiations between Anthropic and the Department of Defense fell through after the company refused to agree to a deal that would have allowed the Pentagon to use its AI models for “all lawful purposes.” Anthropic reportedly sought to clarify that it would not include using the model to launch weapons without human involvement or to perform surveillance on American citizens. The Pentagon was unwilling to agree to honor Anthropic’s redlines. Under a normal administration, that would likely just lead to the government moving on to another company. Under the Trump administration, though, refusal to comply makes you an enemy of the country. Trump and company moved to label Anthropic a supply chain risk, a designation typically reserved for foreign adversaries, not domestic companies. Getting slapped with that tag meant the rest of the federal government would have to stop doing business with Anthropic, which would be a blow to the company. Instead, the whole thing is in limbo—though it’s not looking great for the administration. Of course, they could just cancel the contracts and do business with less scrupulous AI companies. There are plenty willing to abandon their beliefs for a nice, fat contract, after all. #Pentagons #Case #Anthropic #IsntAnthropic,artifical intelligence,Department of Defense,Lawsuit,pentagon

Judge Rita Lin wasted little time pouring cold water on the federal government’s position. “I don’t see additional evidence from the government really justifying what it did. If anything, it seems like the record, in some ways, has gotten worse for the government,” she reportedly said.

She also did not seem convinced by the Pentagon’s apparent argument that it was concerned Anthropic would mess with its model to prevent the military from using it how they intended. “I don’t see evidence that Anthropic could alter the model after it was delivered or flip some kind of kill switch,” she said, per Axios.

This doesn’t come as a major surprise, given Judge Lin’s general vibe since this case landed in her court. Back in March when Anthropic first brought its challenge to the government’s designation, the judge said that “it looks like an attempt to cripple Anthropic.” She ultimately granted a temporary injunction on the government’s attempt to basically blacklist the AI firm.

You’ll recall the origin of this whole fight came earlier this year when negotiations between Anthropic and the Department of Defense fell through after the company refused to agree to a deal that would have allowed the Pentagon to use its AI models for “all lawful purposes.” Anthropic reportedly sought to clarify that it would not include using the model to launch weapons without human involvement or to perform surveillance on American citizens. The Pentagon was unwilling to agree to honor Anthropic’s redlines.

Under a normal administration, that would likely just lead to the government moving on to another company. Under the Trump administration, though, refusal to comply makes you an enemy of the country. Trump and company moved to label Anthropic a supply chain risk, a designation typically reserved for foreign adversaries, not domestic companies. Getting slapped with that tag meant the rest of the federal government would have to stop doing business with Anthropic, which would be a blow to the company.

Instead, the whole thing is in limbo—though it’s not looking great for the administration. Of course, they could just cancel the contracts and do business with less scrupulous AI companies. There are plenty willing to abandon their beliefs for a nice, fat contract, after all.

#Pentagons #Case #Anthropic #IsntAnthropic,artifical intelligence,Department of Defense,Lawsuit,pentagon">The Pentagon’s Case Against Anthropic Isn’t Going WellThe Pentagon’s Case Against Anthropic Isn’t Going Well The Department of Defense labeled AI lab Anthropic a supply-chain risk after the company refused to agree to allow the Pentagon to use its models for autonomous weapons systems and domestic surveillance. It seems the company isn’t just winning the moral argument on this front, but the legal one, too. According to Axios, the judge hearing Anthropic’s challenge to the Trump administration’s designation has thus far not found the Pentagon’s case to be particularly compelling. Per the report, U.S. District Judge Rita Lin wasted little time pouring cold water on the federal government’s position. “I don’t see additional evidence from the government really justifying what it did. If anything, it seems like the record, in some ways, has gotten worse for the government,” she reportedly said. She also did not seem convinced by the Pentagon’s apparent argument that it was concerned Anthropic would mess with its model to prevent the military from using it how they intended. “I don’t see evidence that Anthropic could alter the model after it was delivered or flip some kind of kill switch,” she said, per Axios. This doesn’t come as a major surprise, given Judge Lin’s general vibe since this case landed in her court. Back in March when Anthropic first brought its challenge to the government’s designation, the judge said that “it looks like an attempt to cripple Anthropic.” She ultimately granted a temporary injunction on the government’s attempt to basically blacklist the AI firm. You’ll recall the origin of this whole fight came earlier this year when negotiations between Anthropic and the Department of Defense fell through after the company refused to agree to a deal that would have allowed the Pentagon to use its AI models for “all lawful purposes.” Anthropic reportedly sought to clarify that it would not include using the model to launch weapons without human involvement or to perform surveillance on American citizens. The Pentagon was unwilling to agree to honor Anthropic’s redlines. Under a normal administration, that would likely just lead to the government moving on to another company. Under the Trump administration, though, refusal to comply makes you an enemy of the country. Trump and company moved to label Anthropic a supply chain risk, a designation typically reserved for foreign adversaries, not domestic companies. Getting slapped with that tag meant the rest of the federal government would have to stop doing business with Anthropic, which would be a blow to the company. Instead, the whole thing is in limbo—though it’s not looking great for the administration. Of course, they could just cancel the contracts and do business with less scrupulous AI companies. There are plenty willing to abandon their beliefs for a nice, fat contract, after all. #Pentagons #Case #Anthropic #IsntAnthropic,artifical intelligence,Department of Defense,Lawsuit,pentagon

The Department of Defense labeled AI lab Anthropic a supply-chain risk after the company refused to agree to allow the Pentagon to use its models for autonomous weapons systems and domestic surveillance. It seems the company isn’t just winning the moral argument on this front, but the legal one, too. According to Axios, the judge hearing Anthropic’s challenge to the Trump administration’s designation has thus far not found the Pentagon’s case to be particularly compelling.

Per the report, U.S. District Judge Rita Lin wasted little time pouring cold water on the federal government’s position. “I don’t see additional evidence from the government really justifying what it did. If anything, it seems like the record, in some ways, has gotten worse for the government,” she reportedly said.

She also did not seem convinced by the Pentagon’s apparent argument that it was concerned Anthropic would mess with its model to prevent the military from using it how they intended. “I don’t see evidence that Anthropic could alter the model after it was delivered or flip some kind of kill switch,” she said, per Axios.

This doesn’t come as a major surprise, given Judge Lin’s general vibe since this case landed in her court. Back in March when Anthropic first brought its challenge to the government’s designation, the judge said that “it looks like an attempt to cripple Anthropic.” She ultimately granted a temporary injunction on the government’s attempt to basically blacklist the AI firm.

You’ll recall the origin of this whole fight came earlier this year when negotiations between Anthropic and the Department of Defense fell through after the company refused to agree to a deal that would have allowed the Pentagon to use its AI models for “all lawful purposes.” Anthropic reportedly sought to clarify that it would not include using the model to launch weapons without human involvement or to perform surveillance on American citizens. The Pentagon was unwilling to agree to honor Anthropic’s redlines.

Under a normal administration, that would likely just lead to the government moving on to another company. Under the Trump administration, though, refusal to comply makes you an enemy of the country. Trump and company moved to label Anthropic a supply chain risk, a designation typically reserved for foreign adversaries, not domestic companies. Getting slapped with that tag meant the rest of the federal government would have to stop doing business with Anthropic, which would be a blow to the company.

Instead, the whole thing is in limbo—though it’s not looking great for the administration. Of course, they could just cancel the contracts and do business with less scrupulous AI companies. There are plenty willing to abandon their beliefs for a nice, fat contract, after all.

#Pentagons #Case #Anthropic #IsntAnthropic,artifical intelligence,Department of Defense,Lawsuit,pentagon

I was offline last week in my home state of New Jersey, but when I got back to Silicon Valley, everyone was panicking again about how quickly artificial intelligence is advancing. While this is certainly not the first time I’ve seen such concerns, it’s the biggest anxiety attack I’ve seen in years.

More than 1,000 employees at OpenAI, Anthropic, and other AI labs signed a petition earlier this week arguing the US should find a way to “pace” the AI race—a diplomatic way of saying the industry should have the option to coordinate a temporary pause on AI development, or slow things down if they get out of hand. OpenAI and Anthropic themselves ended up supporting the letter.

The petition arrived a week after OpenAI revealed it had caused an unprecedented cybersecurity incident in which one of its AI agents hacked into Hugging Face’s platform and several other services during internal testing.

Around the same time, top Trump administration officials started freaking out about an impressive new Chinese open weight AI model called Kimi K3, which was allegedly distilled from Anthropic’s Fable 5. In response, most of the tech industry—except Anthropic—signed onto an open letter from Nvidia asking the US government to protect open-weight AI models, arguing they’re a necessary counterbalance to their closed counterparts.

These events might look like a whole bunch of disjointed chaos. But I think they are evidence of a larger worldview taking hold in Silicon Valley, where many tech insiders are increasingly worried about OpenAI and Anthropic’s dominance. Researchers and investors I’ve talked to recently have framed the AI industry as a two-horse race that doesn’t seem to be slowing down, and that’s a cause for concern.

But different groups have their own reasons to be worried. Some OpenAI and Anthropic staffers think their employers are behaving recklessly in their pursuit to take over the market, and that the AI industry may soon develop models that are too capable for current safety methods to contain. They have said as much in public statements attached to this week’s Pacing the Frontier petition.

“I’ve seen how the relentless pace of AI makes it hard for society to keep up and how it puts pressure on labs to cut corners on safety,” Jeremy Hadfield, a research product manager at Anthropic, said in a statement attached to the petition.

For some AI employees, the Hugging Face debacle was a warning shot that demonstrated how OpenAI’s efforts to mitigate the risks of its most capable AI technology are already falling short. Granted, the incident happened when OpenAI was testing an AI model on its ability to find software exploits, and the company had intentionally turned off safeguards designed to rein in its cybersecurity capabilities.

OpenAI said in its postmortem that these tests were conducted in a sandbox, but the model ultimately gained access to the open internet. Some experts previously told WIRED that OpenAI’s security practices should have been more robust.

Other groups in Silicon Valley are more worried about power than safety. Venture capitalists, tech executives, and startup founders are concerned that OpenAI and Anthropic will simply become the next generation of Apple and Google, forcing the rest of the tech industry to play by their rules. It is slightly strange to argue that private startups with little to no profit are acting like monopolies, but that’s the lens through which many—including Mark Zuckerberg—are starting to view the two biggest AI labs.

The Meta CEO wrote a Wall Street Journal op-ed this week warning against the centralization of power in the AI industry, saying that superintelligence should be widely distributed. Zuckerberg is arguably talking out of both sides of his mouth—Meta recently decided to stop open sourcing its best AI models and instead offering them through a paid API and subscription service, just like OpenAI and Anthropic.

#Freaking #OpenAI #Anthropics #Race #Dominancemodel behavior,artificial intelligence,robotics,generative ai,anthropic,openai,ai safety">Everyone Is Freaking Out About OpenAI and Anthropic’s Race for DominanceI was offline last week in my home state of New Jersey, but when I got back to Silicon Valley, everyone was panicking again about how quickly artificial intelligence is advancing. While this is certainly not the first time I’ve seen such concerns, it’s the biggest anxiety attack I’ve seen in years.More than 1,000 employees at OpenAI, Anthropic, and other AI labs signed a petition earlier this week arguing the US should find a way to “pace” the AI race—a diplomatic way of saying the industry should have the option to coordinate a temporary pause on AI development, or slow things down if they get out of hand. OpenAI and Anthropic themselves ended up supporting the letter.The petition arrived a week after OpenAI revealed it had caused an unprecedented cybersecurity incident in which one of its AI agents hacked into Hugging Face’s platform and several other services during internal testing.Around the same time, top Trump administration officials started freaking out about an impressive new Chinese open weight AI model called Kimi K3, which was allegedly distilled from Anthropic’s Fable 5. In response, most of the tech industry—except Anthropic—signed onto an open letter from Nvidia asking the US government to protect open-weight AI models, arguing they’re a necessary counterbalance to their closed counterparts.These events might look like a whole bunch of disjointed chaos. But I think they are evidence of a larger worldview taking hold in Silicon Valley, where many tech insiders are increasingly worried about OpenAI and Anthropic’s dominance. Researchers and investors I’ve talked to recently have framed the AI industry as a two-horse race that doesn’t seem to be slowing down, and that’s a cause for concern.But different groups have their own reasons to be worried. Some OpenAI and Anthropic staffers think their employers are behaving recklessly in their pursuit to take over the market, and that the AI industry may soon develop models that are too capable for current safety methods to contain. They have said as much in public statements attached to this week’s Pacing the Frontier petition.“I’ve seen how the relentless pace of AI makes it hard for society to keep up and how it puts pressure on labs to cut corners on safety,” Jeremy Hadfield, a research product manager at Anthropic, said in a statement attached to the petition.For some AI employees, the Hugging Face debacle was a warning shot that demonstrated how OpenAI’s efforts to mitigate the risks of its most capable AI technology are already falling short. Granted, the incident happened when OpenAI was testing an AI model on its ability to find software exploits, and the company had intentionally turned off safeguards designed to rein in its cybersecurity capabilities.OpenAI said in its postmortem that these tests were conducted in a sandbox, but the model ultimately gained access to the open internet. Some experts previously told WIRED that OpenAI’s security practices should have been more robust.Other groups in Silicon Valley are more worried about power than safety. Venture capitalists, tech executives, and startup founders are concerned that OpenAI and Anthropic will simply become the next generation of Apple and Google, forcing the rest of the tech industry to play by their rules. It is slightly strange to argue that private startups with little to no profit are acting like monopolies, but that’s the lens through which many—including Mark Zuckerberg—are starting to view the two biggest AI labs.The Meta CEO wrote a Wall Street Journal op-ed this week warning against the centralization of power in the AI industry, saying that superintelligence should be widely distributed. Zuckerberg is arguably talking out of both sides of his mouth—Meta recently decided to stop open sourcing its best AI models and instead offering them through a paid API and subscription service, just like OpenAI and Anthropic.#Freaking #OpenAI #Anthropics #Race #Dominancemodel behavior,artificial intelligence,robotics,generative ai,anthropic,openai,ai safety

OpenAI, Anthropic, and other AI labs signed a petition earlier this week arguing the US should find a way to “pace” the AI race—a diplomatic way of saying the industry should have the option to coordinate a temporary pause on AI development, or slow things down if they get out of hand. OpenAI and Anthropic themselves ended up supporting the letter.

The petition arrived a week after OpenAI revealed it had caused an unprecedented cybersecurity incident in which one of its AI agents hacked into Hugging Face’s platform and several other services during internal testing.

Around the same time, top Trump administration officials started freaking out about an impressive new Chinese open weight AI model called Kimi K3, which was allegedly distilled from Anthropic’s Fable 5. In response, most of the tech industry—except Anthropic—signed onto an open letter from Nvidia asking the US government to protect open-weight AI models, arguing they’re a necessary counterbalance to their closed counterparts.

These events might look like a whole bunch of disjointed chaos. But I think they are evidence of a larger worldview taking hold in Silicon Valley, where many tech insiders are increasingly worried about OpenAI and Anthropic’s dominance. Researchers and investors I’ve talked to recently have framed the AI industry as a two-horse race that doesn’t seem to be slowing down, and that’s a cause for concern.

But different groups have their own reasons to be worried. Some OpenAI and Anthropic staffers think their employers are behaving recklessly in their pursuit to take over the market, and that the AI industry may soon develop models that are too capable for current safety methods to contain. They have said as much in public statements attached to this week’s Pacing the Frontier petition.

“I’ve seen how the relentless pace of AI makes it hard for society to keep up and how it puts pressure on labs to cut corners on safety,” Jeremy Hadfield, a research product manager at Anthropic, said in a statement attached to the petition.

For some AI employees, the Hugging Face debacle was a warning shot that demonstrated how OpenAI’s efforts to mitigate the risks of its most capable AI technology are already falling short. Granted, the incident happened when OpenAI was testing an AI model on its ability to find software exploits, and the company had intentionally turned off safeguards designed to rein in its cybersecurity capabilities.

OpenAI said in its postmortem that these tests were conducted in a sandbox, but the model ultimately gained access to the open internet. Some experts previously told WIRED that OpenAI’s security practices should have been more robust.

Other groups in Silicon Valley are more worried about power than safety. Venture capitalists, tech executives, and startup founders are concerned that OpenAI and Anthropic will simply become the next generation of Apple and Google, forcing the rest of the tech industry to play by their rules. It is slightly strange to argue that private startups with little to no profit are acting like monopolies, but that’s the lens through which many—including Mark Zuckerberg—are starting to view the two biggest AI labs.

The Meta CEO wrote a Wall Street Journal op-ed this week warning against the centralization of power in the AI industry, saying that superintelligence should be widely distributed. Zuckerberg is arguably talking out of both sides of his mouth—Meta recently decided to stop open sourcing its best AI models and instead offering them through a paid API and subscription service, just like OpenAI and Anthropic.

#Freaking #OpenAI #Anthropics #Race #Dominancemodel behavior,artificial intelligence,robotics,generative ai,anthropic,openai,ai safety">Everyone Is Freaking Out About OpenAI and Anthropic’s Race for Dominance

I was offline last week in my home state of New Jersey, but when I got back to Silicon Valley, everyone was panicking again about how quickly artificial intelligence is advancing. While this is certainly not the first time I’ve seen such concerns, it’s the biggest anxiety attack I’ve seen in years.

More than 1,000 employees at OpenAI, Anthropic, and other AI labs signed a petition earlier this week arguing the US should find a way to “pace” the AI race—a diplomatic way of saying the industry should have the option to coordinate a temporary pause on AI development, or slow things down if they get out of hand. OpenAI and Anthropic themselves ended up supporting the letter.

The petition arrived a week after OpenAI revealed it had caused an unprecedented cybersecurity incident in which one of its AI agents hacked into Hugging Face’s platform and several other services during internal testing.

Around the same time, top Trump administration officials started freaking out about an impressive new Chinese open weight AI model called Kimi K3, which was allegedly distilled from Anthropic’s Fable 5. In response, most of the tech industry—except Anthropic—signed onto an open letter from Nvidia asking the US government to protect open-weight AI models, arguing they’re a necessary counterbalance to their closed counterparts.

These events might look like a whole bunch of disjointed chaos. But I think they are evidence of a larger worldview taking hold in Silicon Valley, where many tech insiders are increasingly worried about OpenAI and Anthropic’s dominance. Researchers and investors I’ve talked to recently have framed the AI industry as a two-horse race that doesn’t seem to be slowing down, and that’s a cause for concern.

But different groups have their own reasons to be worried. Some OpenAI and Anthropic staffers think their employers are behaving recklessly in their pursuit to take over the market, and that the AI industry may soon develop models that are too capable for current safety methods to contain. They have said as much in public statements attached to this week’s Pacing the Frontier petition.

“I’ve seen how the relentless pace of AI makes it hard for society to keep up and how it puts pressure on labs to cut corners on safety,” Jeremy Hadfield, a research product manager at Anthropic, said in a statement attached to the petition.

For some AI employees, the Hugging Face debacle was a warning shot that demonstrated how OpenAI’s efforts to mitigate the risks of its most capable AI technology are already falling short. Granted, the incident happened when OpenAI was testing an AI model on its ability to find software exploits, and the company had intentionally turned off safeguards designed to rein in its cybersecurity capabilities.

OpenAI said in its postmortem that these tests were conducted in a sandbox, but the model ultimately gained access to the open internet. Some experts previously told WIRED that OpenAI’s security practices should have been more robust.

Other groups in Silicon Valley are more worried about power than safety. Venture capitalists, tech executives, and startup founders are concerned that OpenAI and Anthropic will simply become the next generation of Apple and Google, forcing the rest of the tech industry to play by their rules. It is slightly strange to argue that private startups with little to no profit are acting like monopolies, but that’s the lens through which many—including Mark Zuckerberg—are starting to view the two biggest AI labs.

The Meta CEO wrote a Wall Street Journal op-ed this week warning against the centralization of power in the AI industry, saying that superintelligence should be widely distributed. Zuckerberg is arguably talking out of both sides of his mouth—Meta recently decided to stop open sourcing its best AI models and instead offering them through a paid API and subscription service, just like OpenAI and Anthropic.

#Freaking #OpenAI #Anthropics #Race #Dominancemodel behavior,artificial intelligence,robotics,generative ai,anthropic,openai,ai safety

Critical coverage usually draws an angry email or two. For Ina and David Steiner, it led to live cockroaches, a fetal pig, and a bloody Halloween mask.

On Monday, July 27, eBay and several former executives agreed to pay $55.7 million to resolve the couple’s lawsuit over the 2019 corporate harassment campaign.

The Steiners are the married founders of EcommerceBytes, a news site covering eBay and the broader ecommerce industry. They filed the civil case in 2021 after members of eBay’s security team sent them threats, disturbing packages, and unwanted visitors in an effort to influence the site’s reporting.

Of the $55.7 million settlement, $48.7 million will go directly to the Steiners. EBay will pay $46.15 million, former CEO Devin Wenig will pay $2 million, former senior vice president Wendy Jones will pay $500,000, and former chief communications officer Steve Wymer will pay $50,000. The remaining $7 million will go to nonprofit organizations. EBay will contribute $6 million, while Wenig will donate another $1 million to a group protecting First Amendment rights in Ina Steiner’s name.

The agreement also allows the Steiners to keep talking publicly about the case. It contains no confidentiality provision, a priority for the couple because they wanted the settlement to discourage other corporations from trying to intimidate journalists over critical coverage.

To understand why the Steiners considered that transparency so important, it helps to go back to how the campaign began.

From critical coverage to criminal charges

When eBay’s security team began targeting the Steiners in 2019, the couple had already spent two decades covering the company and other online marketplaces, such as Amazon and Etsy. Through EcommerceBytes, they reported on the issues affecting online sellers, including fees, policy changes, and the executives making those decisions.

The internal lead-up to the campaign only became clear years later — the Steiners initially filed their civil lawsuit in July 2021 and amended it in March 2023. Ina Steiner later told Wired in July 2026 that the litigation gave the couple access to roughly 68,000 documents showing how eBay executives discussed the site behind the scenes.

Those records traced a steady escalation. According to the amended complaint, Wenig sent Wymer a link to an April 10, 2019, EcommerceBytes article about his compensation. Wymer responded, “We are going to crush this lady.”

The following month, Jones allegedly asked eBay security chief Jim Baugh to address criticism of the company “off the radar” and told him she did not want to know the details. Then, on Aug. 1, 2019, EcommerceBytes published an article questioning Wenig’s handling of eBay’s litigation against Amazon. Within half an hour, Wenig allegedly told Wymer that if they were ever going to “take her down,” referring to Ina Steiner, “now is the time.”

Four days later, the harassment campaign allegedly began. According to eBay’s admissions to federal prosecutors, members of its security team targeted the Steiners between Aug. 5 and Aug. 23, 2019. Anonymous accounts on what was then Twitter criticized EcommerceBytes and threatened to show up at the couple’s home in Natick, Massachusetts.

The campaign quickly reached their front door. In addition to the cockroaches, fetal pig, and bloody mask, the group allegedly sent live spiders, fly larvae, a funeral wreath, and a book about surviving the death of a spouse. Pornographic magazines addressed to David were allegedly delivered to a neighbor, while Craigslist ads allegedly invited strangers to the Steiners’ home for sex, a block party, and an estate sale. One night, an emergency plumber even arrived unannounced.

As the messages and deliveries continued, the language inside eBay remained aggressive. On Aug. 11, Wymer allegedly told Baugh, “I want to see ashes. As long as it takes. Whatever it takes.” The group also took the harassment offline — several members of eBay’s security team allegedly traveled from California to Massachusetts, followed the Steiners in a rented van, and attempted to install a GPS tracker on their car.

They also had an unusual plan for how the campaign would end. EBay security manager Brian Gilbert, a former police captain, was allegedly supposed to approach the Steiners and offer to stop the attacks his colleagues were secretly carrying out. EBay would then appear to have solved a problem its own employees had created.

That plan unraveled when the Steiners realized they were being followed and contacted local police. Once members of the group learned they were under investigation, they allegedly made false statements, deleted digital evidence, and falsified records in an attempt to hide eBay’s involvement.

Wenig, Wymer, and Jones were not criminally charged, and Wenig has maintained that he was requesting a communications response and knew nothing about the harassment. EBay’s internal investigation found his messages inappropriate but said it uncovered no evidence that he authorized the security team’s actions.

Federal prosecutors eventually charged seven former eBay employees and contractors in 2020, all of whom eventually pleaded guilty. Four received prison sentences between July 2021 and October 2022, including Baugh, who was sentenced to 57 months in September 2022. Two others received one year of home confinement later that year. The final defendant, Gilbert, was sentenced in July 2024 to time served and one year of supervised release.

The consequences also reached eBay itself. In January 2024, federal prosecutors charged the company with six felony offenses, including stalking, witness tampering, and obstruction of justice. EBay admitted to a detailed account of the campaign, paid the maximum penalty of $3 million, and agreed to retain an independent compliance monitor for three years.

The new settlement, though, resolves the Steiners’ civil claims against eBay, Wenig, Jones, and Wymer. The couple also reached separate settlements with the other former employees named in the lawsuit, although those terms were not disclosed.

EBay says it has changed

In a public statement published July 28, 2026, eBay called what happened “wrong, reprehensible and should never have happened.” The company condemned the employees who pleaded guilty and acknowledged the “unprofessional tone” of messages involving Wenig, Wymer, and Jones.

EBay said new leaders have joined the company since 2019 and that it has strengthened its policies, internal controls, and employee training. Wenig has continued to maintain that he knew nothing about the campaign, saying through a representative that he was saddened it happened while he was CEO.

After the packages, threats, surveillance, criminal cases, and six years of litigation, the campaign still failed at its original goal. EcommerceBytes remains online, and Ina Steiner got to publish the news of eBay’s settlement herself. Talk about closure!

#EBay #pay #million #journalists #cyberstalking #case">EBay to pay .7 million in journalists’ cyberstalking case Critical coverage usually draws an angry email or two. For Ina and David Steiner, it led to live cockroaches, a fetal pig, and a bloody Halloween mask.On Monday, July 27, eBay and several former executives agreed to pay .7 million to resolve the couple’s lawsuit over the 2019 corporate harassment campaign.The Steiners are the married founders of EcommerceBytes, a news site covering eBay and the broader ecommerce industry. They filed the civil case in 2021 after members of eBay’s security team sent them threats, disturbing packages, and unwanted visitors in an effort to influence the site’s reporting. Of the .7 million settlement, .7 million will go directly to the Steiners. EBay will pay .15 million, former CEO Devin Wenig will pay million, former senior vice president Wendy Jones will pay 0,000, and former chief communications officer Steve Wymer will pay ,000. The remaining million will go to nonprofit organizations. EBay will contribute million, while Wenig will donate another million to a group protecting First Amendment rights in Ina Steiner’s name.The agreement also allows the Steiners to keep talking publicly about the case. It contains no confidentiality provision, a priority for the couple because they wanted the settlement to discourage other corporations from trying to intimidate journalists over critical coverage.To understand why the Steiners considered that transparency so important, it helps to go back to how the campaign began.From critical coverage to criminal chargesWhen eBay’s security team began targeting the Steiners in 2019, the couple had already spent two decades covering the company and other online marketplaces, such as Amazon and Etsy. Through EcommerceBytes, they reported on the issues affecting online sellers, including fees, policy changes, and the executives making those decisions.The internal lead-up to the campaign only became clear years later — the Steiners initially filed their civil lawsuit in July 2021 and amended it in March 2023. Ina Steiner later told Wired in July 2026 that the litigation gave the couple access to roughly 68,000 documents showing how eBay executives discussed the site behind the scenes.Those records traced a steady escalation. According to the amended complaint, Wenig sent Wymer a link to an April 10, 2019, EcommerceBytes article about his compensation. Wymer responded, “We are going to crush this lady.” Mashable Light Speed The following month, Jones allegedly asked eBay security chief Jim Baugh to address criticism of the company “off the radar” and told him she did not want to know the details. Then, on Aug. 1, 2019, EcommerceBytes published an article questioning Wenig’s handling of eBay’s litigation against Amazon. Within half an hour, Wenig allegedly told Wymer that if they were ever going to “take her down,” referring to Ina Steiner, “now is the time.” This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. Four days later, the harassment campaign allegedly began. According to eBay’s admissions to federal prosecutors, members of its security team targeted the Steiners between Aug. 5 and Aug. 23, 2019. Anonymous accounts on what was then Twitter criticized EcommerceBytes and threatened to show up at the couple’s home in Natick, Massachusetts.The campaign quickly reached their front door. In addition to the cockroaches, fetal pig, and bloody mask, the group allegedly sent live spiders, fly larvae, a funeral wreath, and a book about surviving the death of a spouse. Pornographic magazines addressed to David were allegedly delivered to a neighbor, while Craigslist ads allegedly invited strangers to the Steiners’ home for sex, a block party, and an estate sale. One night, an emergency plumber even arrived unannounced.As the messages and deliveries continued, the language inside eBay remained aggressive. On Aug. 11, Wymer allegedly told Baugh, “I want to see ashes. As long as it takes. Whatever it takes.” The group also took the harassment offline — several members of eBay’s security team allegedly traveled from California to Massachusetts, followed the Steiners in a rented van, and attempted to install a GPS tracker on their car. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. They also had an unusual plan for how the campaign would end. EBay security manager Brian Gilbert, a former police captain, was allegedly supposed to approach the Steiners and offer to stop the attacks his colleagues were secretly carrying out. EBay would then appear to have solved a problem its own employees had created.That plan unraveled when the Steiners realized they were being followed and contacted local police. Once members of the group learned they were under investigation, they allegedly made false statements, deleted digital evidence, and falsified records in an attempt to hide eBay’s involvement. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. Wenig, Wymer, and Jones were not criminally charged, and Wenig has maintained that he was requesting a communications response and knew nothing about the harassment. EBay’s internal investigation found his messages inappropriate but said it uncovered no evidence that he authorized the security team’s actions.Federal prosecutors eventually charged seven former eBay employees and contractors in 2020, all of whom eventually pleaded guilty. Four received prison sentences between July 2021 and October 2022, including Baugh, who was sentenced to 57 months in September 2022. Two others received one year of home confinement later that year. The final defendant, Gilbert, was sentenced in July 2024 to time served and one year of supervised release. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. The consequences also reached eBay itself. In January 2024, federal prosecutors charged the company with six felony offenses, including stalking, witness tampering, and obstruction of justice. EBay admitted to a detailed account of the campaign, paid the maximum penalty of million, and agreed to retain an independent compliance monitor for three years.The new settlement, though, resolves the Steiners’ civil claims against eBay, Wenig, Jones, and Wymer. The couple also reached separate settlements with the other former employees named in the lawsuit, although those terms were not disclosed.EBay says it has changedIn a public statement published July 28, 2026, eBay called what happened “wrong, reprehensible and should never have happened.” The company condemned the employees who pleaded guilty and acknowledged the “unprofessional tone” of messages involving Wenig, Wymer, and Jones.EBay said new leaders have joined the company since 2019 and that it has strengthened its policies, internal controls, and employee training. Wenig has continued to maintain that he knew nothing about the campaign, saying through a representative that he was saddened it happened while he was CEO.After the packages, threats, surveillance, criminal cases, and six years of litigation, the campaign still failed at its original goal. EcommerceBytes remains online, and Ina Steiner got to publish the news of eBay’s settlement herself. Talk about closure! #EBay #pay #million #journalists #cyberstalking #case

eBay and several former executives agreed to pay $55.7 million to resolve the couple’s lawsuit over the 2019 corporate harassment campaign.

The Steiners are the married founders of EcommerceBytes, a news site covering eBay and the broader ecommerce industry. They filed the civil case in 2021 after members of eBay’s security team sent them threats, disturbing packages, and unwanted visitors in an effort to influence the site’s reporting.

Of the $55.7 million settlement, $48.7 million will go directly to the Steiners. EBay will pay $46.15 million, former CEO Devin Wenig will pay $2 million, former senior vice president Wendy Jones will pay $500,000, and former chief communications officer Steve Wymer will pay $50,000. The remaining $7 million will go to nonprofit organizations. EBay will contribute $6 million, while Wenig will donate another $1 million to a group protecting First Amendment rights in Ina Steiner’s name.

The agreement also allows the Steiners to keep talking publicly about the case. It contains no confidentiality provision, a priority for the couple because they wanted the settlement to discourage other corporations from trying to intimidate journalists over critical coverage.

To understand why the Steiners considered that transparency so important, it helps to go back to how the campaign began.

From critical coverage to criminal charges

When eBay’s security team began targeting the Steiners in 2019, the couple had already spent two decades covering the company and other online marketplaces, such as Amazon and Etsy. Through EcommerceBytes, they reported on the issues affecting online sellers, including fees, policy changes, and the executives making those decisions.

The internal lead-up to the campaign only became clear years later — the Steiners initially filed their civil lawsuit in July 2021 and amended it in March 2023. Ina Steiner later told Wired in July 2026 that the litigation gave the couple access to roughly 68,000 documents showing how eBay executives discussed the site behind the scenes.

Those records traced a steady escalation. According to the amended complaint, Wenig sent Wymer a link to an April 10, 2019, EcommerceBytes article about his compensation. Wymer responded, “We are going to crush this lady.”

The following month, Jones allegedly asked eBay security chief Jim Baugh to address criticism of the company “off the radar” and told him she did not want to know the details. Then, on Aug. 1, 2019, EcommerceBytes published an article questioning Wenig’s handling of eBay’s litigation against Amazon. Within half an hour, Wenig allegedly told Wymer that if they were ever going to “take her down,” referring to Ina Steiner, “now is the time.”

Four days later, the harassment campaign allegedly began. According to eBay’s admissions to federal prosecutors, members of its security team targeted the Steiners between Aug. 5 and Aug. 23, 2019. Anonymous accounts on what was then Twitter criticized EcommerceBytes and threatened to show up at the couple’s home in Natick, Massachusetts.

The campaign quickly reached their front door. In addition to the cockroaches, fetal pig, and bloody mask, the group allegedly sent live spiders, fly larvae, a funeral wreath, and a book about surviving the death of a spouse. Pornographic magazines addressed to David were allegedly delivered to a neighbor, while Craigslist ads allegedly invited strangers to the Steiners’ home for sex, a block party, and an estate sale. One night, an emergency plumber even arrived unannounced.

As the messages and deliveries continued, the language inside eBay remained aggressive. On Aug. 11, Wymer allegedly told Baugh, “I want to see ashes. As long as it takes. Whatever it takes.” The group also took the harassment offline — several members of eBay’s security team allegedly traveled from California to Massachusetts, followed the Steiners in a rented van, and attempted to install a GPS tracker on their car.

They also had an unusual plan for how the campaign would end. EBay security manager Brian Gilbert, a former police captain, was allegedly supposed to approach the Steiners and offer to stop the attacks his colleagues were secretly carrying out. EBay would then appear to have solved a problem its own employees had created.

That plan unraveled when the Steiners realized they were being followed and contacted local police. Once members of the group learned they were under investigation, they allegedly made false statements, deleted digital evidence, and falsified records in an attempt to hide eBay’s involvement.

Wenig, Wymer, and Jones were not criminally charged, and Wenig has maintained that he was requesting a communications response and knew nothing about the harassment. EBay’s internal investigation found his messages inappropriate but said it uncovered no evidence that he authorized the security team’s actions.

Federal prosecutors eventually charged seven former eBay employees and contractors in 2020, all of whom eventually pleaded guilty. Four received prison sentences between July 2021 and October 2022, including Baugh, who was sentenced to 57 months in September 2022. Two others received one year of home confinement later that year. The final defendant, Gilbert, was sentenced in July 2024 to time served and one year of supervised release.

The consequences also reached eBay itself. In January 2024, federal prosecutors charged the company with six felony offenses, including stalking, witness tampering, and obstruction of justice. EBay admitted to a detailed account of the campaign, paid the maximum penalty of $3 million, and agreed to retain an independent compliance monitor for three years.

The new settlement, though, resolves the Steiners’ civil claims against eBay, Wenig, Jones, and Wymer. The couple also reached separate settlements with the other former employees named in the lawsuit, although those terms were not disclosed.

EBay says it has changed

In a public statement published July 28, 2026, eBay called what happened “wrong, reprehensible and should never have happened.” The company condemned the employees who pleaded guilty and acknowledged the “unprofessional tone” of messages involving Wenig, Wymer, and Jones.

EBay said new leaders have joined the company since 2019 and that it has strengthened its policies, internal controls, and employee training. Wenig has continued to maintain that he knew nothing about the campaign, saying through a representative that he was saddened it happened while he was CEO.

After the packages, threats, surveillance, criminal cases, and six years of litigation, the campaign still failed at its original goal. EcommerceBytes remains online, and Ina Steiner got to publish the news of eBay’s settlement herself. Talk about closure!

#EBay #pay #million #journalists #cyberstalking #case">EBay to pay $55.7 million in journalists’ cyberstalking case

Critical coverage usually draws an angry email or two. For Ina and David Steiner, it led to live cockroaches, a fetal pig, and a bloody Halloween mask.

On Monday, July 27, eBay and several former executives agreed to pay $55.7 million to resolve the couple’s lawsuit over the 2019 corporate harassment campaign.

The Steiners are the married founders of EcommerceBytes, a news site covering eBay and the broader ecommerce industry. They filed the civil case in 2021 after members of eBay’s security team sent them threats, disturbing packages, and unwanted visitors in an effort to influence the site’s reporting.

Of the $55.7 million settlement, $48.7 million will go directly to the Steiners. EBay will pay $46.15 million, former CEO Devin Wenig will pay $2 million, former senior vice president Wendy Jones will pay $500,000, and former chief communications officer Steve Wymer will pay $50,000. The remaining $7 million will go to nonprofit organizations. EBay will contribute $6 million, while Wenig will donate another $1 million to a group protecting First Amendment rights in Ina Steiner’s name.

The agreement also allows the Steiners to keep talking publicly about the case. It contains no confidentiality provision, a priority for the couple because they wanted the settlement to discourage other corporations from trying to intimidate journalists over critical coverage.

To understand why the Steiners considered that transparency so important, it helps to go back to how the campaign began.

From critical coverage to criminal charges

When eBay’s security team began targeting the Steiners in 2019, the couple had already spent two decades covering the company and other online marketplaces, such as Amazon and Etsy. Through EcommerceBytes, they reported on the issues affecting online sellers, including fees, policy changes, and the executives making those decisions.

The internal lead-up to the campaign only became clear years later — the Steiners initially filed their civil lawsuit in July 2021 and amended it in March 2023. Ina Steiner later told Wired in July 2026 that the litigation gave the couple access to roughly 68,000 documents showing how eBay executives discussed the site behind the scenes.

Those records traced a steady escalation. According to the amended complaint, Wenig sent Wymer a link to an April 10, 2019, EcommerceBytes article about his compensation. Wymer responded, “We are going to crush this lady.”

The following month, Jones allegedly asked eBay security chief Jim Baugh to address criticism of the company “off the radar” and told him she did not want to know the details. Then, on Aug. 1, 2019, EcommerceBytes published an article questioning Wenig’s handling of eBay’s litigation against Amazon. Within half an hour, Wenig allegedly told Wymer that if they were ever going to “take her down,” referring to Ina Steiner, “now is the time.”

Four days later, the harassment campaign allegedly began. According to eBay’s admissions to federal prosecutors, members of its security team targeted the Steiners between Aug. 5 and Aug. 23, 2019. Anonymous accounts on what was then Twitter criticized EcommerceBytes and threatened to show up at the couple’s home in Natick, Massachusetts.

The campaign quickly reached their front door. In addition to the cockroaches, fetal pig, and bloody mask, the group allegedly sent live spiders, fly larvae, a funeral wreath, and a book about surviving the death of a spouse. Pornographic magazines addressed to David were allegedly delivered to a neighbor, while Craigslist ads allegedly invited strangers to the Steiners’ home for sex, a block party, and an estate sale. One night, an emergency plumber even arrived unannounced.

As the messages and deliveries continued, the language inside eBay remained aggressive. On Aug. 11, Wymer allegedly told Baugh, “I want to see ashes. As long as it takes. Whatever it takes.” The group also took the harassment offline — several members of eBay’s security team allegedly traveled from California to Massachusetts, followed the Steiners in a rented van, and attempted to install a GPS tracker on their car.

They also had an unusual plan for how the campaign would end. EBay security manager Brian Gilbert, a former police captain, was allegedly supposed to approach the Steiners and offer to stop the attacks his colleagues were secretly carrying out. EBay would then appear to have solved a problem its own employees had created.

That plan unraveled when the Steiners realized they were being followed and contacted local police. Once members of the group learned they were under investigation, they allegedly made false statements, deleted digital evidence, and falsified records in an attempt to hide eBay’s involvement.

Wenig, Wymer, and Jones were not criminally charged, and Wenig has maintained that he was requesting a communications response and knew nothing about the harassment. EBay’s internal investigation found his messages inappropriate but said it uncovered no evidence that he authorized the security team’s actions.

Federal prosecutors eventually charged seven former eBay employees and contractors in 2020, all of whom eventually pleaded guilty. Four received prison sentences between July 2021 and October 2022, including Baugh, who was sentenced to 57 months in September 2022. Two others received one year of home confinement later that year. The final defendant, Gilbert, was sentenced in July 2024 to time served and one year of supervised release.

The consequences also reached eBay itself. In January 2024, federal prosecutors charged the company with six felony offenses, including stalking, witness tampering, and obstruction of justice. EBay admitted to a detailed account of the campaign, paid the maximum penalty of $3 million, and agreed to retain an independent compliance monitor for three years.

The new settlement, though, resolves the Steiners’ civil claims against eBay, Wenig, Jones, and Wymer. The couple also reached separate settlements with the other former employees named in the lawsuit, although those terms were not disclosed.

EBay says it has changed

In a public statement published July 28, 2026, eBay called what happened “wrong, reprehensible and should never have happened.” The company condemned the employees who pleaded guilty and acknowledged the “unprofessional tone” of messages involving Wenig, Wymer, and Jones.

EBay said new leaders have joined the company since 2019 and that it has strengthened its policies, internal controls, and employee training. Wenig has continued to maintain that he knew nothing about the campaign, saying through a representative that he was saddened it happened while he was CEO.

After the packages, threats, surveillance, criminal cases, and six years of litigation, the campaign still failed at its original goal. EcommerceBytes remains online, and Ina Steiner got to publish the news of eBay’s settlement herself. Talk about closure!

#EBay #pay #million #journalists #cyberstalking #case

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