Statement from Toy Industries of Europe (TIE), represented by Catherine Van Reeth, Director-General, on “A comprehensive EU toolbox for safe and sustainable e-commerce”
Today, the European Commission sent a strong signal that it wants to tackle the surging volume of unsafe or non-compliant products that are brought on the European market through eCommerce platforms.
We applaud this ambition. While we are still assessing today’s announcement, some key questions stand out:
TIE’s recent shopping exercise found that 80% of toys bought from third-party sellers on online marketplaces failed to meet EU safety standards putting our children at risk. Strong and clear rules are essential. We are not sure the proposal will remedy the current situation.
- For example, does the proposal to make online marketplaces and sellers ‘deemed importer’ for customs purposes also apply beyond the point of customs clearance? If an unsafe toy bypasses under-resourced customs checks and injures a child, who is held responsible?
- Who is liable in the regular instances where EU addresses for toys sold on online platforms turn out to be fake or the sellers cannot be traced?
The EU must ensure online platforms are unequivocally recognised as economic operators, with legal responsibility for products sold when no EU-based party is present or can be held accountable. There should be no legal ambiguity or loopholes that allow online platforms to escape this. Responsibilities and liabilities in the EU should apply in the same way to both physical stores and eCommerce platforms to keep consumers safe.
Trader traceability requirements for online marketplaces should be strongly enforced and extended to all online intermediaries to avoid illegal goods moving to less regulated platforms.
On top of that, we call for stronger measures to tackle counterfeits. The quickest way to take down an offer for an illegal product is when a brand identifies it as a counterfeit. Rightsholders therefore must be clearly recognised as eligible Trusted Flaggers of counterfeit goods. Platforms must also act swiftly to prevent the sale of the same unsafe product under a different item number.
The safety of our children is at the heart of the reputable European toy industry. We urge the EU Commission to continue to thoroughly assess and identify current and potential future loopholes in the area of online sales to ensure a level playing field for European industries and to protect consumers, especially children.
