Amazon has been ordered by a U.S. government agency to take responsibility for hazardous products sold on its platform by third-party sellers and shipped by the company. The Consumer Product Safety Commission, in a unanimous vote, classified Amazon as a 'distributor' of faulty items sold on its site and shipped through its fulfillment service. This decision legally obligates Amazon to handle recalls of over 400,000 products, including hairdryers and defective carbon monoxide detectors.
The agency directed Amazon to establish a system for notifying customers who purchased faulty items and to remove these products from circulation. This can be achieved by offering incentives for their return or destruction. Amazon, a major player in the e-commerce industry, accounts for approximately 40% of online sales in the U.S. The company not only sells items directly to consumers but also collaborates with nearly 2 million third-party sellers who drive a significant portion of sales on the platform.
Amazon has been disputing the 'distributor' label since 2021 when the Consumer Product Safety Commission filed a complaint against the company for distributing hazardous items. Despite Amazon's arguments before an administrative law judge and the commission, the decision was made to classify the company as a distributor under the Consumer Product Safety Act. The commission highlighted Amazon's failure to inform consumers about hazardous products and its inadequate efforts to encourage customers to return or dispose of these items, thereby putting them at risk of harm.
