Online Traders May Lose Their Rights To Sell Online.
ACCC Australian Product Safety Pledge to remove unsafe products from the internet.
Last financial year, online marketplaces that voluntarily joined the ACCC’s Australian Product Safety Pledge took down more than 15,000 potentially unsafe products. 98% of regulator-initiated takedown requests were completed within two days.
After years of collaboration on product safety with AliExpress, Amazon Australia, Catch.com.au, and eBay Australia (and MyDeal.com.au pledge in April 2021), the Australian pledge was launched in November 2020. In the ACCC’s second annual report released on 24 February 2023, the pledge signatories committed to 12 product safety actions and will report annually on their performance, acknowledging the importance of product safety and recognising that preventative and corrective measures serve Australian consumers.
Innovative Detection Techniques
According to the ACCC, using AI, image recognition, and automated scanning, the pledge has taken thousands of unsafe products off the online marketplaces or blocked them automatically. The ACCC Vice Chair, Catriona Lowe, said that the ACCC is glad to see pledge signatories using innovative techniques to detect and remove unsafe products from the online platforms and prevent them from being listed. Signatories are encouraging Australian shoppers to shop safely. The ACCC encourages other online marketplaces to sign the pledge and prioritise product safety. As explained by Ms Lowe to the sellers,
“If you’re selling goods online, it’s your responsibility to ensure the products are safe and that they comply with Australian product safety laws.”
OECD SWEEP
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) did a 2021 international web sweep of 1196 banned and recalled products and found that 1044 were still for sale. As a result, when selling their products, it is crucial for sellers to understand that minimum safety requirements must be met to prevent or lessen the risk of customer injury, avoiding the threat of their products being ‘recalled’, ‘blocked’, or “removed’ from online sales in the Australian market.
BWES has over 20 years of compliance experience and extensive ACCC and regulatory knowledge and can arrange for a compliance audit for all your consumer products including, toys, electrical appliances, furniture and much more. Contact BWES today for assistance with complying with the Australian and New Zealand product safety standard.
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