The United States plans to issue new regulations! Directly related to Amazon and third-party sellers

According to eMarketer statistics, Amazon's e-commerce business accounts for nearly 40% of the U.S. Whether Amazon should be responsible for third-party products has always been a matter of concern to all parties.

Recently, news came out that an informed insider said that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission ( CPSC) is formulating a new regulation: classifying Amazon's online retail business as a commodity distributor.

Amazon has previously opposed being considered a distributor because the company believes it only provides a trading platform for buyers and sellers and is therefore not responsible for the quality of goods sold by third-party sellers.

If the new rules are passed, Amazon's reasons above will be overturned. The company will be required to respond to lawsuits and recall products sold on the platform, including those from third-party sellers, just like other traditional retailers. This will also allow Amazon to conduct stricter review and control of the products of third-party sellers.

At the same time, other e-commerce platforms and technology companies with similar models to Amazon will also be subject to the new regulations.

It is reported that this resolution is under review within the CPSC. In order for this resolution to pass, a majority of the CPSC's four existing commissioners must vote in favor.

In fact, there have been many judgments in the past that Amazon is responsible for the products of third-party sellers.

In 2019, the United States Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled that Amazon was responsible for a defective product purchased by a consumer. The consumer bought a retractable dog leash from a third-party seller through Amazon, and the leash caused the consumer to lose one eye. It is worth mentioning that in the first two rounds of judgments, the court ruled that Amazon was not responsible for the product.

A similar ruling occurred in 2020, when the California Fourth District Court of Appeal overturned the trial court's ruling in 2019 and supported a consumer's lawsuit against Amazon. Previously, the consumer purchased a laptop from a third-party seller on the Amazon platform. Later, the laptop battery caught fire and caused the consumer to suffer third-degree burns.

Perhaps because of the increasing number of similar cases, in August 2021, Amazon announced that it would pay compensation of up to $1,000 to American customers who were injured or suffered property damage from defective goods sold by third-party sellers on the Amazon platform. At the same time, Amazon also stated that it would play a greater role in mediating damage claims between customers and third-party sellers.

Regarding the new regulations under review, Amazon stated in a statement to the media: Safety is very important to Amazon, and the company hopes that customers can shop here with confidence; the company has taken proactive measures to prevent suspicious or unqualified products from appearing on the market; at the same time, it also monitors the products on the platform to prevent safety issues.

Amazon also said that Amazon's safety and compliance controls cover all products sold in its store, including first-party and third-party items.

Amazon

CPSC

Third-party products