Sen. Blumenthal Backs CPSC Suit on Amazon Goods

Amazon must recall unsafe products and notify consumers, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Wednesday after the Consumer Product Safety Commission filed an administrative complaint to force a recall. “This is a forceful and decisive action by CPSC with a clear message to Amazon and other online marketplaces: knowingly selling dangerous and defective products that imperil Americans will not be tolerated,” he said. He cited certain AmazonBasics car chargers, surge protectors and microwaves as products that reportedly hurt consumers. He said Congress should give the CPSC the resources it needs. As the CPSC complaint acknowledges, “for the vast majority of the products in question,” Amazon “immediately removed the products from our store, notified customers about potential safety concerns, advised customers to destroy the products, and provided customers with full refunds,” a company spokesperson emailed. For remaining products, the agency hasn’t provided responsive information, the company said, noting it has expanded efforts to handle recalls: It’s unclear why the agency “filed a complaint seeking to force us to take actions almost entirely duplicative of those we’ve already taken.”