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Michael McGrath and a counterfeit Labubu EC/Jennifer Jacquemart
show and tell
Ireland's Michael McGrath takes on dodgy goods sold online (starting with this fake Labubu)
McGrath, the EU’s Commissioner for consumer protection, singled out unsafe products bought on TikTok, Amazon and Facebook Marketplace.
LAST UPDATE | 6 Mar
IT WAS SHOW and tell time in Brussels yesterday as Ireland’s European Commissioner, Michael McGrath, brought along a number of unsafe goods seized as part of a crackdown on dodgy products sold online.
The products had been bought on TikTok, AliExpress, Facebook Marketplace and Amazon.
First up was a counterfeit Labubu, “an internet sensation, as you all know”, McGrath told journalists.
This counterfeit doll originated in Singapore and was being sold on TikTok. The toy’s hands and feet detach easily, posing a choking risk to young kids. It was removed from sale and the sellers were warned of the dangers posed.
Next up from McGrath was “this teddy, also known as the character Toothless from How To Train Your Dragon”.
It has small parts and stuffing that pose a choking risk. It originated in China and was being sold on AliExpress.
Like the Labubu, it was caught by French authorities.
“It’s another example of quite a dangerous product that looks so innocuous at first sight,” McGrath said.
The European Commissioner for Consumer Protection also brought along a children’s swim seat which “may look perfectly normal” but was actually not compliant with EU safety rules because it contained play elements, such as a steering wheel, and so gave the impression of being a toy.
It was removed from sale on Amazon after being caught by Austrian authorities.
There were a record 4,671 product safety alerts in the EU last year, the commission announced yesterday.
Three quarters of these products came from outside the EU, McGrath said.
He also gave the example of a set of trimmer blades from China that was being sold on Facebook Marketplace, and has now been removed from sale. The rivets attaching the knives to the flail cutter were able to break away very easily, meaning the knife might detach during use.
“You could be using this to go about your work in the garden, and it can just fall apart and detach, and you can immediately see what the danger is with all of these individual knives could be sent flying, causing real harm and exposing the user, but also anyone else in the vicinity, to potential real harm,” McGrath said.
Cosmetics accounted for over a third of reported dangerous products. The vast majority of cosmetics warnings related to the presence of BMCHA, a banned synthetic fragrance which can have harmful effects on the reproductive system and cause skin irritation.
Toys were the next most reported product at 16%, followed by electrical appliances and equipment.
Risks to health due to dangerous chemicals in products was the leading cause of alerts, accounting for more than half of all notifications.
McGrath said the EU will step up its efforts to keep consumers safe given the continuing increase in online commerce, with 15 million small parcels entering the EU every day.
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