A range of non-compliant and unsafe products, which have been prohibited from sale or recalled from the market, or present inadequate product labelling and safety warnings, remain available for sale online. According to recent OECD statistics, 68% of products that were identified as banned or recalled were supplied online. In addition, 55% of 60 selected products did not comply with product safety standards.
These unsafe or defective products online can cause detriment to consumers and the broader community, including physical injury, financial burden, and even death.
From 12-16 November 2018, in conjunction with the International Product Safety Week, an OECD global awareness campaign was carried out to inform online platforms, online sellers, and consumers to raise awareness on the safety of products sold online. The campaign aimed to ensure that the products consumers buy online are safe. It also informed businesses about ways to navigate product safety regulations of various jurisdictions and to identify product safety risks.
The campaign was co-ordinated by the European Commission and Australia's Competition and Consumer Commission. The following 26 jurisdictions participated: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Egypt, European Commission, France, Germany, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, Russian Federation, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States.
Online sellers engaging in both domestic and cross-border ecommerce should:
Online platforms hosting sellers are urged to:
Video produced by Australian Competition & Consumer Commission Product Safety
Visit ACCC's #SafeProductsOnline campaign webpage
Video (in Spanish) produced by Colombia's Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio.