Amazon now Requires USB-C Cables To Be Certified Before Listing on Its Site

Amazon has added noncertified USB-C cables to its list of items prohibited from being sold on the e-commerce site, CNN/Money reported Thursday. USB-C cables were designed to recognize the device they're drawing power from and adjust the power usage accordingly -- more from a power outlet and less from a laptop. But Benson Leung, a Google engineer and prolific USB-C cable reviewer on Amazon, suffered damage to his Chromebook trying to charge a device using the Surjtech 3M USB cable because the cord had been wired incorrectly, he said. “Serious damage has been done to components related to charging and managing the USB Type-C port's capabilities,” Leung said, calling the cable “fundamentally dangerous.” In a recent update of its prohibited items listing, Amazon said it wouldn’t accept for sale on the site “any USB-C (or USB Type-C) cable or adapter product that is not compliant” with standard specifications issued by the USB Implementers Forum. Leung, on a mission to weed out inferior USB-C cables from the market, applauded the Amazon move in a Google+ post: "Really great news, but we all have to continue to be vigilant and call out any bad products we find on Amazon and other stores (both online and brick and mortar) as we find them," Leung said. The most recent news release on the USB Implementers Forum website, dated Feb. 21, 2015, warns consumers to purchase "compliant products from trusted sources that display USB-IF certified logos on packaging, in product briefs or on the cable or device itself.” Noncompliant USB cables, whether USB Type-C, Micro-USB or otherwise, “pose a risk to the functionality and interoperability of USB products,” it said. Surjtech could not be reached for comment.