EPA orders Amazon, eBay to stop selling faulty coronavirus, pesticide products

[vkjfau-0]

Products are 'unregistered, misbranded or restricted-use'

The Environmental Protection Agency  on Thursday sent a notice to Amazon and eBay ordering the two e-commerce giants to stop selling pesticides and faulty coronavirus-related products.

The agency said third-party or direct sellers are listing these "unregistered, misbranded or restricted-use" pesticide and COVID-19-related products on Amazon and eBay's platforms.

"These stop-sale orders to Amazon and eBay demonstrate the administration's continued commitment to protecting the health and safety of Americans," EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said in a Thursday statement. “We remain vigilant against the claims of producers that falsely assert their efficacy and safety."

He added that "products that falsely claim to be effective against COVID-19" are of particular importance amid the pandemic.

"It is our duty to continue transparent communication with the public on unregistered products that may cause injury to consumers, and immediately remove them from commerce," Wheeler said.

Wheeler held talks with Amazon, eBay and other e-commerce websites regarding the prevalence of unregistered or otherwise problematic and potentially dangerous products available on their platforms. The EPA says that despite those discussions, however, Amazon and eBay have failed to consistently block listings for "unregistered, misbranded or restricted-use pesticides" and COVID-19 products.

eBay said the website's priority "remains ensuring the safety" of its "customers and employees around the world."

"Amid the [COVID-19] pandemic, we have taken significant measures to block or quickly remove items from our marketplace that are unsafe, make false health claims or violate our zero-tolerance price gouging policy," eBay said.The agency also said some of these unregistered or misbranded pesticides and COVID-19 products include statements like the following on Amazon and eBay:

• “Kills COVID-19”
• “Complete sterilization including the current pandemic virus”
• “Coronavirus disinfectant”
• “2020 Coronavirus Protection Coronavirus Protection Clearance Sale”
• “A Powerful, Green, Non-Toxic Solution Proven to Inactivate our current viral strain”
• “Epidemic Prevention”
• “Efficient disinfection to prevent the spread of disease”
• “Help keep your family and those you care for healthy”
• “Nontoxic causes no permanent injuries”
• “Ingredients are biodegradable and have no harmful impact on the environment”
• “There is no damage to the environment”
• “You can easily purify the living environment”
• “Safe for all people using”
• “Gentle to Child & Pets”
• “Chemical Free”

The EPA in April warned a number of e-commerce platforms including Facebook, eBay, Alibaba, Shopify, Qoo10, JoyBuy.com, Wish.com and banggood.com of the risks of selling illegal disinfectant products.

Saoud Khalifah, founder and CEO of counterfeit finder and app Fakespot said in March that consumers should be aware of counterfeit respiratory masks, gloves, sanitizer and other COVID-19 products being sold on Amazon every day.

"People are relying on Amazon right now," Khalifah said of the many high-demand household products people are buying on the platform, but he added that bad actors "are capitalizing on the news and trends of today" by attempting to sell these counterfeit products.

Amazon and eBay, both of which have millions of item listings on their platforms, have policies that prohibit the sale of counterfeit products.

[gwzcomps]

I wonder if eBay will do anything about the fake UV C lights being listed on the site. Granted there are plenty of inherently dangerous items listed there that eBay turns a blind eye too.

[dhbookds]

I wonder if each of those individual statements are enough to id/take down a  listing.....ie.

“Ingredients are biodegradable and have no harmful impact on the environment

if so, going to be some taken down that have nothing to do with the virus.....

[gracieallen01]

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@dhbookds wrote:

I wonder if each of those individual statements are enough to id/take down a  listing.....ie.

“Ingredients are biodegradable and have no harmful impact on the environment

if so, going to be some taken down that have nothing to do with the virus.....

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It would seem reasonable that items with statements like those could be on the list for examination and banishment.  After all, it is one of the EPA's jobs, being the Environmental Protection Agency.

We'll know if we soon see an influx of sellers complaining about a 'take down'.

[dhbookds]

Gracie........point was........alot of unrelated items to the virus could be caught in the ban.......that statement could be true about the particular item......

[1tuna]

.......................general reply.....................

this seem pretty rediculous  to me.I mean what is the matter with a little hype or marketing in the title.All products have may uses,some of them are not smart, the tide pod challenge is stupid.Lots of things are sold every day and nobody cares about them.how about vitamin water,how about water overdose causing death that was the grand prize in a radio contest.

maybe ebay should just put up a big disclaimer not to drink the clorox

do we need the government to tell ebay how to market our items?

[wastingtime101]

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@vkjfau-0 wrote:

• “You can easily purify the living environment”
• “Safe for all people using”
• “Gentle to Child & Pets”

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Is it just me or do these 3 in particular sound like they come from listings created by sellers in China?

[soh.maryl]

How will that work, exactly, since eBay doesn't actually SELL anything? As we're all aware, eBay is a venue for sellers to list items for sale and buyers to bid on or buy those items.  

[ed8108]

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@soh.maryl wrote:

How will that work, exactly, since eBay doesn't actually SELL anything? As we're all aware, eBay is a venue for sellers to list items for sale and buyers to bid on or buy those items.  

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  The gov't could possibly levy monetary fines on eBay for failure of compliance to undertake sufficient action.

[prettywoman-2012]

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@soh.maryl wrote:

How will that work, exactly, since eBay doesn't actually SELL anything? As we're all aware, eBay is a venue for sellers to list items for sale and buyers to bid on or buy those items.  

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Last time I thought eBay was just a venue - I was 22 years younger. 

PW🐿

[dtexley3]

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@dhbookds wrote:

Gracie........point was........alot of unrelated items to the virus could be caught in the ban.......that statement could be true about the particular item......

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Get ready for another round of "Mickey Mouse Ears" being taken down for supposedly violating "policy".

[gracieallen01]

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@dhbookds wrote:

Gracie........point was........alot of unrelated items to the virus could be caught in the ban.......that statement could be true about the particular item......

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Quite true, as well as a lot of things that aren't associated with virus protection are being touted as being effective protections and others that are just not safe in any personal use.

Of course there is always the school of thought that perhaps all safety and warning labels should be removed and let nature take it's course.

[yuzuha]

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@dhbookds wrote:

I wonder if each of those individual statements are enough to id/take down a  listing.....ie.

“Ingredients are biodegradable and have no harmful impact on the environment

if so, going to be some taken down that have nothing to do with the virus.....

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Yeah, that's what I'm wondering.  There ARE in fact a great number of branded cleaning products available in stores that are made from all-natural ingredients, and the people who buy them are usually doing so specifically BECAUSE they're better for the environment.