Amazon Sued by U.S. Product-Safety Agency Over Dangerous Items
- Retailer targeted for defective kids’ clothes, hair dryers
- Agency says Amazon responsible for third-party sellers’ goods
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Amazon.com Inc. was sued by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is seeking an order determining that the largest online retailer is legally responsible for defective products sold in its sprawling third-party marketplace.
The complaint filed on Wednesday says Amazon sold children’s sleepwear that failed to meet federal standards for flammability; some 24,000 carbon monoxide detectors that failed to activate when the harmful gas was present; and 400,000 hair dryers that risked shock and electrocution. Each of the products was sold by one of Amazon’s millions of third-party sellers, and all used a service called Fulfillment By Amazon, in which the company stores and distributes the products on behalf of its sellers.