The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Amazon should be held responsible for dangerous or defective products sold by third-party retailers through its platform. The CPSC unanimously determined that more than 400,000 products sold through the Amazon Fulfillment program posed “significant product hazards” and that the tech giant should be held legally responsible for recalling them. It also said that Amazon failed to properly notify customers about the defective products and encourage them to return or discard them.
Today’s decision comes after a multi-year process since the CPSC filed suit against Amazon in July 2021. The investigation focused on carbon monoxide detectors that did not function properly, hair dryers without shock protection devices, and children’s pajamas that did not meet federal flammability standards. Under the agency’s decision and order, Amazon must notify customers about these defective products and submit a plan to take steps to return or destroy them.
We’ve reached out to Amazon for comment and will update this post if we hear from the retailer.
The Justice Department has taken similar actions against eBay in recent months: in September 2023, after the company sold environmentally unsafe materials, and in January 2024, after the company paid a settlement with the Justice Department over pill presses.
