Blumenthal & Schakowsky to Facebook Marketplace: Stop Resales of Deadly Recalled Products Like Rock 'n Play Sleeper

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chair of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security, and U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce, called on Facebook Marketplace to ensure deadly recalled products are not listed and sold on the platform. In a damning investigation, USA Today revealed that many recalled products—including the deadly Fisher-Price Rock ‛n Play Sleeper—are frequently found on Facebook Marketplace despite being recalled. The Rock ‛n Play Sleeper, recalled in 2019, has been linked to the deaths of nearly 100 infants, with at least 8 deaths occurring after the product was recalled.

“Meta has a moral obligation to its users to prevent, monitor, and remove these dangerous listings from its platform, and make it easier for users to do the same; Meta’s continued failure to do so indicates a remarkable dereliction of duty by your company on behalf of your users,” wrote Blumenthal and Schakowsky to Facebook Marketplace parent company Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

The lawmakers called on Meta to implement a long-awaited tool allowing users to report a recalled product and to automatically restrict the sale of recalled goods like it restricts other illegal items.

“We expect that you fully understand the danger of a recalled product ending up in an unwitting family’s home. Recalled products can cause injury or even death,” stressed Blumenthal and Schakowsky. “Meta has an ability to be a partner with the CPSC, and manufacturers facing recalls, in the fight to protect children from dangerous and deadly products, and we hope that Meta will heed this call.”

Blumenthal and Schakowsky also wrote to Fisher-Price, demanding answers about the company’s deficient recall efforts around the Rock ‛n Play Sleeper and calling on the company to urgently act to notify the public about this hazard.

“It is clear that Fisher-Price may have underinvested in recall efforts and continued to pursue messaging to confuse parents and caregivers,” wrote the lawmakers to Fisher-Price parent company Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz. “We write today to request information on the efforts that your company has taken to notify consumers of the recall—and remove Rock ‛n Plays from homes and the market. It is clear from your own data that more needs to be done to protect your consumers.”

The text of the letter to Meta is available here. The text of the letter to Mattel is available here.

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