Big Gov Comes for Amazon

Feds say Amazon must recall products sold by third-party vendors

The federal nanny state is at it again, this time going after Amazon for selling dangerous goods like children's clothing that will give your kid flamethrower skills and hairdryers that will electrocute you.

[The CPSC] found that Amazon, as a “distributor,” did not “provide sufficient notification to the public and did not take adequate steps to encourage its customers to return or destroy these hazardous items, thereby leaving consumers at risk of injury.”

The ruling comes from the CPSC, aka the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which must stand for "Can't Play Sans Careful supervision." They decided that Amazon didn't do enough to warn consumers about dangerous products sold by third-party vendors on its site. We're talking over 400,000 items here, including:

• Kid's clothes that are basically flame throwers
• Hairdryers that will give you a new 'do and a funeral
• Carbon monoxide detectors that detect nothing but your money

Amazon, the e-commerce giant that made $575 billion last year, argued that it wasn't responsible for the third-party vendor's sales and that its policy of sending customers notes about "potential" risks was enough.

But the CPSC didn't buy it, and now Amazon has to "develop and submit proposed plans to notify purchasers and the public about the product hazards and to provide refunds or replacements."

So, if you bought any of the following, you might want to think twice before wearing/using them:

Kid's Clothing:

• HOYMN Little Girl’s Lace Cotton Nightgowns
• IDGIRLS Kids Animal Hooded Soft Plush Flannel Bathrobes
• Home Swee Boy’s Plush Fleece Robe with Skull
• Taiycyxgan Little Girl’s Coral Fleece Bathrobe

Faulty Carbon Monoxide Detectors:

• WJZXTEK
• Zhenzhou Winsen Electronics Technology Company, LTD
• BQQZHZ

Hairdryers that will give you a bad hair day:

• OSEIDOO
• Aiskki, Raxurt Store
• LEMOCA
• And a whole bunch of others, too many to list but you can check them all out here: https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/pdfs/recall/lawsuits/abc/142%20-%20In%20the%20Matter%20of%20Amazon.com%20Inc.%20Decision%20and%20Order.pdf

There you have it, folks. The big gov coming down on Amazon, and telling a business how to run its affairs. The moral of the story? The government knows best, and if you don't want to end up fried, electrocuted, or gassed, listen to them!

Max "Big Gov Fanboy" Hauptman, USA TODAY.