Amazon’s argument that it is only an intermediary between buyers and sellers has been rejected by federal authorities, who have decided that Amazon can be held accountable for subpar products sold by independent merchants on its online marketplace.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission stated in a historic ruling issued on Tuesday that it was unanimously decided that Amazon “fits squarely” within the description of a distributor of goods and “thus bears legal responsibility for their recall.”
Amazon must create a plan to alert customers and the general public about the product risks and provide them with refunds or replacements for the impacted products, as part of the agency’s ruling.
Currently, millions of independent sellers sell on Amazon’s marketplace, which generates over 60% of the company’s online sales.
Although the marketplace has helped Amazon achieve record profits, it has also been shown to carry dangerous, expired, and counterfeit goods.
The business has previously stated that it spends hundreds of millions of dollars annually to guarantee that the goods it sells are legal and safe.
Source (CNBC)
