A federal agency is alleging that Amazon
"The named products include 24,000 faulty carbon monoxide detectors that fail to alarm [when gas is present], numerous children's sleepwear garments that are in violation of the flammable fabric safety standard risking burn injuries to children, and nearly 400,000 hairdryers sold without the required immersion protection devices that protect consumers against shock and electrocution," CPSC wrote in a press release.
The Commission hopes that this new administrative complaint will push the company to cooperate with them on a full recall and refund for affected products.
"Although Amazon has taken certain action with respect to some of the named products, the complaint charges that those actions are insufficient," the release continues.
According to Amazon, it has already removed and refunded the majority of the products listed in the suit. The company says it's confused by the suit which is apparently asking them to "take actions almost entirely duplicative of those we've already taken."
"For the remaining few products in question, the CPSC did not provide Amazon with enough information for us to take action and despite our requests, CPSC has remained unresponsive," an Amazon spokesperson told reporters.
The CPSC's criticisms seem to fall on Amazon's efforts to notify the public about these hazardous products, as well as their efforts to recover and destroy the products without charging consumers.
The majority of the products sold on Amazon are sold through its Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA) program which allows third-party merchants to sell products on their platform.
"Today's vote to file an administrative complaint against Amazon was a huge step forward for this small agency," Acting Chairman Robert Adler said in the CPSC release. "But it's a huge step across a vast desert-we must grapple with how to deal with these massive third-party platforms more efficiently, and how best to protect the American consumers who rely on them."
In the past, the CPSC has failed to hold much sway with companies that sell hazardous products, even when those products have been connected to dozens of infant deaths. Companies hold the majority of the power when it comes to product safety, a fact that has put consumers in danger.
"The CPSC faces a nearly insurmountable hurdle each and every time the agency wants to warn the public about a hazardous product," Adler said in a May recall of Peloton
