Amazon responsible for product recalls, says US

Amazon responsible for product recalls, says US Getty Images US regulators have ruled that Amazon is responsible for handling recalls of unsafe products sold on its site and must improve its process. They said Amazon’s alerts were not sufficient to convince its customers to stop using such products and ordered the company to submit a
Amazon responsible for product recalls, says US

Amazon responsible for product recalls, says US

Getty Images A worker prepares packages at an Amazon same-day delivery fulfillment center on Prime Day in the Bronx borough of New York, US, on Tuesday, July 16, 2024Getty Images

US regulators have ruled that Amazon is responsible for handling recalls of unsafe products sold on its site and must improve its process.

They said Amazon’s alerts were not sufficient to convince its customers to stop using such products and ordered the company to submit a new plan for how it will respond.

The decision by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) came after the agency sued the e-commerce giant in 2021 for distributing more than 400,000 hazardous items, including faulty carbon monoxide detectors.

Amazon said it planned to appeal the finding, while defending its practices.

In the event of a recall, Amazon said it currently removes products from its site and notifies customers.

“We are disappointed by the CPSC’s decision. We plan to appeal the decision and look forward to presenting our case in court,” the company said in a statement.

In this case, Amazon said it had stopped selling the unsafe products identified in the complaint, which included the faulty carbon monoxide detectors, hairdryers without electrocution protection, and children’s pyjamas that did not meet flammability rules.

It said it had notified customers, instructed them to stop using the items and provided refunds.

But the commission said Amazon’s messages failed to include terms like “recall” and supply other information.

Amazon “did not take adequate steps to encourage its customers to return or destroy them, thereby leaving consumers at substantial risk of injury,” it said.

Amazon has long pushed back on claims it was liable for products sold by other businesses on its platform.

In this case, Amazon had disputed its responsibility as a “distributor” under the law, arguing that it was simply acting as an outside logistics provider.

But the commission said Amazon’s role went beyond that of an ordinary shipping company when merchants used its “Fulfilled by Amazon” service, which handles the majority of sales on the platform.

For businesses enrolled in the programme, Amazon controls the return process, communicates with customers, enforces pricing rules and screens items for eligibility, according to the commission’s decision.

In a statement, the commission said its decision was based on the facts of this particular case, while adding: “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”.

The ruling enters ongoing debate about what responsibility online platforms have for content on their site.

In 2020, a California appeals court found Amazon could be held liable for damages in a case involving a defective laptop battery sold on its site.

A year later, Amazon introduced a new product guarantee, which includes refunds and a process for resolving personal injury disputes.

“We stand behind the safety of every product in our store,” the company said on Tuesday, adding that it had measures in place to prevent unsafe products and monitor listings.

Total
0
Shares
Leave a Reply
Related Posts
The ‘future of baseball’ came to play at Haarlem’s HonkbalweekThe ‘future of baseball’ came to play at Haarlem’s Honkbalweek
Read More

The ‘future of baseball’ came to play at Haarlem’s HonkbalweekThe ‘future of baseball’ came to play at Haarlem’s Honkbalweek

The 'future of baseball' came to play at Haarlem's Honkbalweek August 14th, 2024 Michael Clair @michaelsclair Share share-square-643564 Paul Skenes took the mound and fired strike after strike past batters who were seemingly helpless to hit him. Dylan Crews, his teammate at LSU, was in right field and Florida's Wyatt Langford was in left. Fellow
Border Arrests in July Drop to Low Under Biden
Read More

Border Arrests in July Drop to Low Under Biden

The number of arrests by border agents of migrants who crossed the southern border illegally in July is expected to fall under 60,000, according to three people with knowledge of the data, a precipitous drop from the record numbers of crossings that plagued the Biden administration just months ago. The July arrest numbers are set