Amazon wants Consumer Product Safety Committee to consider “unconstitutional”
Amazon is suing the Consumer Product Safety Commission for decisions about companies responsible for defective products on its platform, Associated Press Report. Amazon’s lawsuit calls for the transport giant to be regarded as a “third-party logistics provider” rather than a distributor, and calls CPSC an “unconstitutional construction.”
The origins of the legal battle date back to 2021, when CPSC sued Amazon forcing it to recall the wrong carbon monoxide detectors, unsafe hair dryers and flammable children’s pajamas. At the time, Amazon had taken steps to address this issue, such as notifying customers who purchased a product and providing store credit, but CPSC hopes the company will grow further.
CPSC classifies Amazon as a distributor in 2024, putting the company in charge of product issuance recalls and refunds fulfilled through the Amazon (FBA) program. The FBA allows sellers to send their products to Amazon warehouses, which Amazon then processes, packages and ships to customers, as well as products like customer service and revenue. Amazon’s classification of its distributor is questioned because it does not own or brings the flawed product that CPSC focuses on — it considers itself more like a hands-on FedEx.
In addition to wishing to reclassify without any refund liability, Amazon has problems with CPSC itself. The CPSC’s commissioner is appointed by the president, approved by the Senate and served for seven years unless he is removed from office as “neglected or served.” Amazon considers the committee’s relative invincibility unconstitutional and makes them “judges, juries and prosecutors” in litigation.
Amazon’s claims to the National Labor Review Board are similar, and the organization is responsible for protecting workers’ union rights. The timing of these complaints is crucial. The Trump administration is not particularly interested in maintaining any government organization capable of regulating its business, and it seems that it may detach the CPSC from Amazon and deprive it of its capabilities in one way or another.
