Amazon is fighting the government’s efforts to get it to recall hazardous products

Amazon is suing the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) after the agency said it was responsible for recalling all of the dangerous products on its marketplace, including those sold by third parties. In a lawsuit filed last week, Amazon accuses the CPSC of stretching consumer safety law by treating the e-commerce giant as a distributor rather than a logistics provider.

The CPSC sued Amazon in 2021, claiming the company failed to properly recall tens of thousands of hazardous items, including flammable children’s pajamas and faulty carbon monoxide detectors. Though Amazon removed the products in question and sent notifications to buyers, the CPSC alleged it “downplayed the severity of the hazard.” The CPSC later reaffirmed an administrative law judge’s decision that Amazon is a distributor, making it responsible for carrying out recalls of third-party goods.

But Amazon classifies itself as a third-party logistics provider that “does not manufacture, own, or sell those products,” which would mean the CPSC doesn’t have the authority to issue recall orders to the company. It also claims the CPSC’s structure is unconstitutional, saying it allows commissioners “to act as judge, jury, and prosecutor in the same proceeding.” Amazon launched a product recall page on its site in 2023.

“The law is clear that Amazon is a ‘distributor’ in this case and must carry out a recall,” William Wallace, the director of safety advocacy for Consumer Reports said in a response to the lawsuit. “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.”