Safety: Amazon responsible for distribution of 400,000 harmful products to consumers –Regulators

*The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission unanimously issues a Decision and Order, concluding its administrative litigation ruling with Amazon, an e-commerce giant, covering 400,000 recalled products that are dangerous to consumers’ wellbeing, directing the company and others to be more ‘responsible for product recalls’

Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect

The United States (US) Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Friday, January 17, 2025, unanimously issued a Decision and Order, concluding its administrative litigation with Amazon.com, Incorporated, a global e-commerce company with $575 billion in revenue.

ConsumerConnect learnt a final ruling from US Government’s product safety regulator has ordered Amazon to provide refunds for more than 400,000 dangerous products.

The CPSC disclosed the ruling covers the recalled products, including faulty carbon monoxide detectors, hairdryers without electrocution protection and children’s sleepwear that violated federal flammability standards.

The Decision and Order outlines steps Amazon must take to notify consumers, and the public about hazardous products for which the Commission determined Amazon was a distributor under the US CPSA.

The order is effective from January 26 this year, the CPSC said.

The American country’s market regulator also affirmed that Amazon is responsible for the recall of hundreds of thousands of dangerous products it distributed, including providing refunds.

The CPSC ruling has also exerted pressure on the global tech giant to be more responsible for product recalls, agency report said.

Regulators order full refunds for concerned consumers

Following the CPSC Decision and Order, the regulators ordered Amazon to provide full refunds to affected consumers who submitted proof of destruction, or disposal of the company’s products, and to notify consumers of the recalled products.

According to CPSC, Amazon must also host the recall releases on its “Recalls and Product Safety Alerts” Web page for a minimum of five years and submit monthly progress reports for five years and records of its compliance.

Previously, in July 2025, the CPSC said that Amazon was a “distributor” of the dangerous products in question, making the company responsible for their recall.

An Amazon spokesperson told also disclosed the company is “dissappointed” and plans to appeal the decision in court, ConsumerAffairs report said.

The spokesperson of the Big Tech stated: “When we were initially notified by the CPSC three years ago about potential safety issues with a small number of third-party products at the center of this lawsuit, we swiftly notified customers, instructed them to stop using the products, and refunded them.

“The remedies ordered by the CPSC are largely duplicative of the steps we took several years ago to protect customers, which are the same steps we take whenever we learn about unsafe products.”

Reports equally indicated although the CPSC decision only covers previously recalled products that were identified, Courtney Griffin, Director of Consumer Product Safety at nonprofit Consumer Federation of America, was quoted to have said the development puts pressure on e-commerce platforms to take more responsibility for future recalls.

“Online marketplaces need more robust systems to vet products before the products make their way into American homes,” Griffin said. “E-commerce giants must ensure consumers are safeguarded adequately in the rapidly expanding online marketplace.”

Griffin also noted: “This case also demonstrates the critical need for improved monitoring of hazardous consumer products and a more effective recall process to remove dangerous products from the marketplace swiftly.”

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