In a unanimous vote, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) found Amazon responsible for selling hazardous products on its site, specifically faulty carbon monoxide (CO) detectors, hairdryers without electrocution protection, and children’s sleepwear that violated federal flammability standards.
Amazon agreed that these products posed a substantial product hazard under the Consumer Product Safety Act, but argued that it was not a “distributor” of these products. An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) found that Amazon was indeed a distributor under its Fulfilled by Amazon program, which the CPSC affirmed. Amazon also argued that it was sufficient to send messages to initial purchasers about “potential” safety issues and providing initial purchasers with Amazon.com credits, rather than refunds incentivizing product return or destruction, but the ALJ and CPSC found that that was not enough to protect consumers.
Under the CPSC’s Decision and Order, Amazon must submit proposed plans to notify consumers and the public about the hazardous products, and to remove the products from the market by incentivizing their return or destruction. The CPSC will consider these plans and then issue a second order on notification and remedies. KID applauds the CPSC’s decision and urges Amazon to take immediate action to remove these hazardous products out of homes and from the secondhand market. Read our joint press release with consumer organizations.
