Unsafe toys reaching kids hands through online giants
Potentially dangerous toys and other products are finding their way into Australian homes due to legal loopholes, meaning online retail giants can take no responsibility for the products they stock.
Consumer group CHOICE warned on Wednesday that products that may already be banned in Australia are being sold by retail giants such as Amazon, Temu, AliExpress and Ebay.
These include fake new cigarettes that create clouds of smoke, lighters that look like toys, and removable tongue studs that can easily come loose and pose a choking hazard.
Also of serious concern are flammable clothing and products that pose minor choking hazards and potentially lethal button batteries that may violate safety standards.
CHOICE campaign director Andy Kelly said because of loopholes around online sales, nothing was often done about breaches before someone was harmed.
Mr Kelly described the scale of unsafe products on sale, particularly those designed for babies and children, as frightening.
CHOICE has lodged a complaint with the consumer watchdog and is calling on the Australian government to take action against retailers who continue to sell dangerous products.
But Mr Kelly explained that online retailers could only claim to be acting as intermediaries, placing the blame on third-party suppliers who could be located anywhere in the world.
“This loophole in the law really allows online marketplaces to continue selling these unsafe products with very few consequences,” he told AAP.
CHOICE is calling on the Commonwealth Government to introduce a general safety provision that will impose obligations on all businesses to ensure the products they sell are safe.
Similar provisions already exist in the European Union, providing an existing framework for work.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission recently took legal action against Amazon for allegedly stocking unicorn backpacks for young children and failing to include a warning that the bags contained button batteries.
Mr. Kelly described the incident as an interesting test of whether Amazon will be held responsible.
On Tuesday the ACCC said it was also investigating the online supply of games and toys containing small, high-powered magnets that are potentially lethal, despite magnets being banned.
Many chess-style board games sold in Australia, including “magnetic chess” and “magnetic battle chess”, contain small magnets that can cause life-threatening injuries if swallowed.
ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said the consumer watchdog had sent takedown requests for the products to Amazon, eBay, Kogan and Fruugo.
Every website has since removed the listed products from their online stores.
In the statement made by Amazon, it was stated that customer safety is its top priority and that artificial intelligence models and special teams are used to constantly monitor the listed products to detect and eliminate products that may pose a risk.
Other online retailers mentioned were contacted for comment.
Every website except Ebay also offered refunds to customers.
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