Balanced Economy Project Urges Safer Online Shopping This Black Friday

Online marketplaces, like Amazon, eBay, Temu, Shein and others make vast profits from every click, and control what millions of people see and buy.

But whenever unsafe products, such as toys, electronics or cosmetics slip through, the platforms claim they are just neutral noticeboards, bearing no liability.

But this is not how these markets really work. A 2023 OECD study of e-commerce websites in 21 wealthy countries found that 87% of banned or recalled products were still available for purchase, and about one-third of all goods did not comply with safety standards.

Commenting on the concerns of online safety during Black Friday, Claire Godfrey, Executive Director of the Balanced Economy Project said: “These companies design the systems, write the rules and control the data. Their business models reward selling more, faster, not keeping people safe. The risk, from electric shocks and fires to toxic materials and choking hazards, fall on families and on public regulators instead. When platforms have this much power and control over what is sold, it is fair to expect them to take responsibility when things go wrong.”

We want clear legal duties that make big online platforms part of the product safety chain. These include:

• Being made legally responsible for products sold through their systems - both their own brands and third-party sellers - especially in high-risk categories.

• Rules that have teeth, including fines based on company turnover so they cannot be treated as a small cost of doing business, and senior leaders facing consequences if they ignore safety warnings repeatedly.

• Open and transparent platforms, including sharing data on unsafe products removed, sellers who break the rules, and how often dangerous items return, which will help regulators and watchdogs spot problems and stop harm.

If platforms take the profits, they must take responsibility.

This Black Friday, we’re calling on the government to stand with consumers not monopolies and make shopping safe by design.