Amazon is legally responsible for hazardous products sold by third-party sellers on its platform, according to a unanimous decision from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The agency determined that Amazon is a distributor of products, and when they are defective or otherwise fail to meet federal consumer product safety standards, is therefore responsible for their recall or other remedial measures.
Over 400,000 products sold on Amazon are affected by the decision. They include hair dryers that lack electrocution protection, faulty carbon monoxide detectors and children’s sleepwear that doesn’t meet flammability standards, the commission said.
The case began in 2021 when the commission sued Amazon to force the recall of potentially hazardous products sold through the Fulfilled By Amazon program. Amazon argued that it was not a distributor and bore no responsibility for the safety of the products sold under its Fulfilled by Amazon program.
The latest ruling requires Amazon to submit plans on how it will notify the public about the hazardous products. Amazon must also provide refunds or replacement products. “Notice to the public is important so that people who may have received one of the products as a gift or purchased it second-hand can learn about the hazards,” the CPSC said.
“We are disappointed by the CPSC’s decision,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement to Retail Dive. “We plan to appeal the decision and look forward to presenting our case in court. When we were initially notified by the CPSC three years ago about potential safety issues with a small number of third-party products at the center of this lawsuit, we swiftly notified customers, instructed them to stop using the products, and refunded them.”
Amazon said it stands behind the safety of every product in its store whether it is sold by the company itself or by a third-party partner. “We have proactive measures in place to prevent unsafe products, and we continuously monitor the listings in our store. If we discover an unsafe product available for sale, we address the issue immediately, and refine our processes,” the company said.
Consumer Reports commended CPSC’s decision, saying it sets a positive precedent for holding companies accountable for consumers’ safety. “This is clearly the right decision,” Oriene Shin, policy counsel for Consumer Reports, said in a Tuesday statement. “There’s no good reason for a company to be exempt from these sensible requirements just because it hosts an online marketplace; otherwise, products that could injure or kill people might slip through the cracks. Consumers are affected either way, and need the company to step up.”
