WASHINGTON, D.C — Consumer Reports (CR), the nonprofit and nonpartisan research, testing, and advocacy organization, today denounced a lawsuit filed by Amazon against the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in federal district court in Maryland.
In the suit, Amazon argues that the company should not have legal responsibility to recall and remedy consumers for unsafe products sold on its marketplace by third-party sellers. Amazon claims that it is just an intermediary and logistics provider for third-party sales, similar to a delivery service, not a distributor or retailer that has a legal responsibility to carry out recalls. The CPSC ordered Amazon to recall more than 400,000 unsafe products in July 2024, after more than three years of adjudication.
William Wallace, director of safety advocacy for Consumer Reports, said, “Instead of demonstrating its commitment to consumer safety, Amazon has fought the CPSC every step of the way for more than three years, and now it’s going to court. The law is clear that Amazon is a ‘distributor’ in this case and must carry out a recall. It’s absurd to suggest that because a company hosts a marketplace online it should be exempt from sensible requirements that help get hazardous products out of people’s homes and prevent them from being sold. The court should reject Amazon’s arguments. Taking Amazon at its word would mean hazardous products slipping through the cracks, even when they are capable of injuring or killing people.”
Amazon’s lawsuit relies primarily on allegations that the CPSC has violated procedural requirements; however, Amazon also is claiming that the agency’s structure is unconstitutional. Specifically, Amazon argues that Congress violated the separation of powers by protecting CPSC commissioners from being removed by the president except in the case of “neglect of duty or malfeasance in office,” and that therefore the CPSC’s order should be set aside.
Wallace said, “Amazon wants to be held blameless for the safety of products sold by third parties on its platform, which is bad enough—but what’s even worse is that the company is attacking the legal foundation on which the CPSC rests. Amazon’s suit suggests the company thinks the people of the United States would be better off without an independent, bipartisan safety agency to enforce our laws and protect consumers from dangerous products. We strongly disagree and condemn Amazon’s reckless constitutional claims.”
Since 2021, the CPSC has been trying to hold Amazon legally accountable for distributing more than 400,000 defective or noncompliant products sold on its platform by third parties, specifically carbon monoxide detectors that fail to alarm, hair dryers without electrocution protection, and children’s sleepwear items that violate federal flammability standards. In a July 2024 final decision and order that set an important precedent for consumers’ safety online, the five-member CPSC voted unanimously to determine that, as a “distributor” under federal law, Amazon bears legal responsibility for recalling the products, notifying purchasers and the public about their hazards, and providing refunds or replacements for the affected products.
CR has supported the CPSC’s efforts to hold Amazon and other digital marketplaces accountable for safety. CR has urged governments and companies to make the online shopping landscape more transparent and dependable for consumers so that they can trust the products they buy for their homes will be safe and not leave their loved ones at risk.
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Media Contact: Emily Akpan, emily.akpan@consumer.org