The Government\u2019s Online Harms Bill has failed to address the problem of dangerous electrical goods available from online marketplaces. So leading consumer protection charity, Electrical Safety First, has put forward its own, \u2018game changing\u2019 Bill.<\/p>\n
Electrical Safety First\u2019s new Bill would make online marketplaces \u2013 such as Amazon and eBay \u2013 legally responsible for hosting listings of potentially lethal electrical products for sale. It would ensure they have the same responsibilities to protect consumers from unsafe products as High Street retailers.<\/p>\n
The Government\u2019s Online Harms Bill was developed in response to increased concerns around online personal security \u2013 particularly for children. Its declared objective is to establish a system of accountability and oversight for tech companies. But while the Government\u2019s Bill covers various \u2018harms\u2019 arising from social media, fake news, or other illegal content on the web, the Charity argued it didn\u2019t go far enough.<\/p>\n
In multiple investigations[i], Electrical Safety First has found electrical products – presenting a serious fire risk – are easily available from third party sellers via online marketplaces. Currently, online marketplaces are not required to inform consumers if they have purchased a substandard electrical product from their site, which leaves thousands unaware of the potential fire and safety risk they have in their home.<\/p>\n
Electrical Safety First\u2019s proposed new Bill, if accepted by Government, would tighten the law so that online marketplaces must ensure electricals sold from a fulfilment centre, or third party seller on their site, are safe. And they would be required to alert consumers who have bought a substandard electrical item from their marketplace.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe campaigned strongly for the Government\u2019s Online Harms Bill to include dangerous electricals available online. We believe \u2018harm\u2019 goes beyond the Government\u2019s definition, because counterfeit or substandard electrical products can have a life-changing impact\u201d, explains Lesley Rudd, Chief Executive of Electrical Safety First.<\/p>\n
\u201cElectricity is responsible for around half of all fires in UK homes, with most arising from electrical products. Our 2020 annual survey[ii] found almost one in four consumers bought what they thought was a genuine electrical item online, from a third-party seller, and then discovered it was fake. We also found[iii] that one in 10 adults have first-hand experience of an electrical shock, or fire, from an electrical item bought online.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we don\u2019t just want online marketplaces to react to risk, we want them to be proactive. Given the sophisticated technologies available to these retail giants, it is not unreasonable to expect them to ensure effective safeguards \u2013 whether from revised algorithms, machine learning, or improved image recognition \u2013 to stop unsafe electricals being sold on their platforms. There is support – research undertaken for us by ComRes[iv], found 70% of MPs want online marketplaces to have a legal responsibility to help prevent the sale of dangerous electrical products. And we believe our proposed Bill would not only improve consumer safety but also protect legitimate businesses selling online.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Electrical Safety First\u2019s proposed Bill<\/span><\/p>\n Under current legislation (The Electric Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016), the definition and obligations of an \u2018economic operator\u2019, i.e. anyone who makes, imports, sells, or distributes, electrical equipment, are detailed. It does not include online marketplaces if they are \u2018simply\u2019 providing a sales platform. Electrical Safety First want online marketplaces to be included in the definition of economic operators. This would ensure they have the same responsibilities for protecting the consumer as a High Street retailer.<\/p>\n Sites such as Amazon and eBay must alert consumers who have bought a substandard electrical product from their site.<\/p>\n Online platforms must make clear if a product is being sold by a private seller.<\/p>\n Online platforms will Inform buyers if a seller has sold a dangerous electrical item, or if they have removed a seller\u2019s account from the platform.<\/p>\n To reduce re-sales of recalled products, online marketplaces must contact private sellers if they are selling a recalled item. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Government\u2019s Online Harms Bill has failed to address the problem of dangerous electrical goods available from online marketplaces. So leading consumer protection charity, Electrical Safety First, has put forward its own, \u2018game changing\u2019 Bill. Electrical Safety First\u2019s new Bill would make online marketplaces \u2013 such as Amazon and eBay \u2013 legally responsible for hosting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16022,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/ewnews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/Battery-Charger-Fire.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16021"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ewnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16021\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16023,"href":"https:\/\/ewnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16021\/revisions\/16023"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewnews.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nInformation on recalled, counterfeit, or substandard products, should be removed from the online platform within 24 hours of a confirmed, substantiated, report.<\/p>\n