Amazon has been forced to recall 400,000 products that could pose a fatal threat to its customers.
The company has pulled back the products after regulators ruled that Amazon is responsible for handling the recalls of unsafe items that are sold on the site.
These things for sale pose a risk to customers and the regulators have said that Amazon’s alerts are not sufficient.
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They say it is not doing enough to convince people to stop using the recalled products and have ordered it to submit a new plan of action.
The regulator behind the decision is the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), who sued Amazon in 2021 for selling over 400,000 products deemed to be hazardous.
This included faulty carbon monoxide detectors, hair dryers without electrocution protection, and kid’s pajamas that didn’t meet flammability rules.
In a statement, Amazon said: “We are disappointed by the CPSC’s decision. We plan to appeal the decision and look forward to presenting our case in court.”
When there is a recall, Amazon currently removes the items from the site and notifies customers, instructing them to stop using the products and give out refunds.
However, according to the CPSC, Amazon didn’t use terms like “recall” when giving out these notices.
Amazon is fighting back by saying that it fulfilled its responsibility as a “distributor” for sellers.
The commission isn’t convincing though, arguing back that Amazon's role goes beyond that of a normal shipping company when customers use its “Fulfilled by Amazon” service.
The service means that for businesses who opt in, Amazon controls the handling of customer communications, the return process, pricing rules and also screens the products for sale for eligibility.
In a statement, the CPSC said: “As with all agency decisions, companies may be interested in considering the applicability of the analysis in the decision to their own products and practices.”
This is a debated issue that has been going on for a number of years.
An appeals court found in 2020 that Amazon could be liable for damages for a case involving a defective laptop battery that was sold on the website.
Then, in 2021, the company introduced a new product guarantee which includes a process for resolving personal injury disputes.
While this legal debate between Amazon and the CPSC continues, the online marketplace released a new statement, saying, “We stand behind the safety of every product in our store”.