“New products and market players have made the reform of product safety regulations more than necessary. The old regulations no longer did justice to today’s globalized market with digital and networked products,” says Stefanie Grunert, consultant in the law and trade team at vzbv. “Unfortunately, the new regulations lack ambition regarding the role of online marketplaces.”
Online shopping: Consumers still have too little protection from dangerous products
The vzbv has repeatedly pointed out that online marketplaces are one of the largest entry points for dangerous products on the European internal market. This applies in particular to direct imports from third countries. Examples of dangerous products that are repeatedly reported to consumer advice centers are smoke detectors that do not report smoke, cosmetics with banned chemicals or unsafe toys with small parts that are also intended for use by small children.
In order to ensure maximum product safety, it is urgently necessary to define online marketplaces as an integral part of the supply chain. The operators of the marketplaces would then have to ensure that only compliant products enter the EU internal market. But this did not find a political majority. From the vzbv's perspective, consumers still do not enjoy the same protection when shopping on online marketplaces as when shopping on site. There is a great risk that consumers will not be able to hold anyone responsible in the event of damage.
“It remains to be seen to what extent the new rules sufficiently protect consumers from dangerous products. The federal government must follow developments closely and, if necessary, advocate for readjustments at the European level,” said Methmann.
The vzbv welcomes some positive points of the new regulations:
- Cybersecurity is a new criterion for evaluating the security of products.
- The market surveillance authorities have more powers, including the ability to carry out test purchases online.
- By making it mandatory to specify the manufacturer and importer, products in the supply chain can be traced more easily.
- There are new remedies for consumers in the event of product recalls (choice between exchange, free repair or money-back option).
The general product safety regulation will come into force in the second half of 2024.
Source:
VZVB
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