Two major online marketplaces - Allegro and Cdiscount - signed with the European Commission on Thursday 30 January in Brussels the voluntary commitment on product safety - a step forward for consumer protection that was welcomed by Didier Reynders, the European Commissioner for Justice and Consumer Affairs (see EUROPE 12414/19).
Under this voluntary commitment, Allegro and Cdiscount will react as quickly as possible to notifications from the EU’s rapid alert system for dangerous non-food products (RAPEX), in cooperation with the Member States’ competent authorities.
“The free movement of goods is a good thing, but it only works properly if the same level of security is guaranteed whether products are bought online or in the corner shop”, the Commissioner stressed. She continued: “I encourage more online marketplaces to show that they take consumer safety seriously”.
Allegro and Cdiscount joined AliExpress, Amazon, eBay and Rakuten France, which had signed the commitment in June 2018.
The marketplaces commit themselves in particular: - to withdraw dangerous products sold on their online platforms within 2 working days following notifications by national authorities and 5 working days for all other types of notification; - to cooperate with national authorities and retailers to inform consumers of product recalls or corrective actions; - to put in place measures to take action against repeat offenders who offer dangerous products for sale.
The stakes are high, given the boom in e-commerce. In 2018, 60% of consumers made an online purchase, with wide variations between EU Member States (20% in Romania compared to 84% in Denmark). And out of more than 2,200 alert notifications on dangerous products, 16% concerned products sold online, the Commissioner recalled. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)