Amazon Ordered to Implement Notification and Refund Remedies for Products Distributed by Amazon
WASHINGTON, Jan. 17, 2025 -- Today, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) unanimously issued a Decision and Order, concluding its administrative litigation with Amazon.com, Inc., a global e-commerce company with $575 billion in revenue. The Decision and Order outlines steps Amazon must take to notify purchasers and the public about hazardous products for which the Commission determined Amazon was a distributor under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA).
In July 2024, the Commission determined in a unanimous vote that Amazon was a "distributor" of certain products that are defective or fail to meet federal consumer product safety standards, and therefore bears legal responsibility for their recall. The Commission also determined that the products, listed on Amazon.com and sold by third-party sellers using the Fulfilled by Amazon program, pose a "substantial product hazard" under the CPSA. More than 400,000 products are subject to this Order: specifically, faulty carbon monoxide (CO) detectors, hairdryers without electrocution protection, and children's sleepwear that violated federal flammability standards.
Today's Order requires Amazon to implement the following:
Notification:
- On the day CPSC publishes the recall releases, Amazon must notify the public by posting the recall releases to Amazon.com; notify original purchasers directly via email and by providing information regarding the recalls on each purchaser's "Your Orders" page.
- Amazon must provide one round of notice of the recalls to Fulfilled by Amazon participants that sold the subject products.
Incentive to Remove Products from Commerce:
- Amazon must issue a full refund in the amount of the purchase price to any consumer who submits proof of destruction or disposal of a subject product.
Maintaining Records of Recalls:
- Amazon must maintain the recall releases on the "Recalls and Product Safety Alerts" webpage on amazon.com for a minimum of five years.
- Amazon must submit monthly progress reports for five years and maintain records of its actions to comply with the Order for the same period.
Further information regarding the recalls will be available to consumers on Amazon.com and CPSC.gov once the Order goes into effect.
Overview
On July 14, 2021, the Commission authorized an administrative complaint against Amazon alleging that the company distributed certain products that pose a substantial product hazard. The matter was initially tried before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) who ruled that Amazon was a "distributor," that the products present a substantial product hazard, and that Amazon must take certain steps, including issuing recalls, to protect the public from the hazardous products. Both parties appealed the ALJ's ruling to the Commission, which considered the record in the case and heard oral argument.
In a Decision and Order issued on July 29, 2024, the Commission determined that Amazon distributed certain products that pose a substantial product hazard under the CPSA, and therefore bears legal responsibility for their recall. Amazon was subsequently ordered to submit proposed plans to notify purchasers and the public about the hazardous products, and to remove the products from commerce and from consumers' possession by incentivizing their return or destruction.
With today's Decision and Order, the Commission has approved notification and action plans that require Amazon to notify purchasers and the public about the product hazards and provide incentives (refunds) to consumers to remove the products from commerce by destroying them.
This Order has an effective date of January 26, 2025.
Background Information
- Recall Lawsuits: Adjudicative Proceedings | CPSC.gov (In the Matter of Amazon.com. CPSC Docket 21-2)
- Press release: CPSC Finds Amazon Responsible Under Federal Safety Law for Hazardous Products Sold by Third-Party Sellers on Amazon.com | CPSC.gov
- Press release: CPSC Sues Amazon to Force Recall of Hazardous Products Sold on Amazon.com | CPSC.gov
Chair and Commissioner Statements:
- Statement of Alexander Hoehn-Saric
- Joint Statement of Peter A. Feldman and Commissioner Douglas Dziak
- Statement of Richard Trumka
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