Blumenthal Discusses U.S. PIRG's New Hazardous Toys Report Ahead of Holiday Season

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – In case you missed it, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chair of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security, joined the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) Education Fund’s virtual press conference to discuss the organization’s new 37th annual Trouble in Toyland report and how to protect children from dangerous toys.

During his remarks, Blumenthal discussed the wide availability of dangerous and potentially deadly recalled toys on online marketplaces. In March, Blumenthal called on Facebook Marketplace to ensure these products, such as the deadly Fisher-Price Rock ‛n Play Sleeper, are not listed and sold on the platform. 

“I am just astonished and appalled at the numbers of recalled products freely available on Facebook Marketplace and eBay. I am just flabbergasted at the absence of any real responsibility on the part of these platforms for what they are selling,” said Blumenthal. “These platforms have a moral and a legal responsibility in my view to do better…More and more legislation should be necessary to impose on them liability and legal responsibility if they fail to provide sufficient notice of a recalled product.”

Blumenthal highlighted legislative steps that have been taken, and still need to be taken, to protect children from dangerous toys. The Blumenthal-led Reese’s Law, signed into law by President Biden in August, strengthens safety standards for battery packaging and products with small batteries frequently found in everyday items. The legislation was named after Reese Hamsmith, an 18 month old, who died tragically after ingesting a button battery from a remote control.

“The numbers of toys available, the kinds of potential dangers, I think merit more serious attention,” said Blumenthal. “Reese’s Law shows we can pass measures that will improve safety…But we need to move forward with the Sunshine in Product Safety Act.”

Introduced by Blumenthal last year, the Sunshine in Product Safety Act would strengthen the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) ability to communicate vital health and safety information about potentially dangerous products to consumers without risking retaliation by the manufacturer. Current regulations give manufacturers an effective veto over the CPSC’s release of company-related information to the public, leading to delays of warnings, no warnings, or releases of generic information about dangerous and recalled products.

“For the CPSC, for this agency to do better, we need to give it the money that it needs, the resources that are necessary,” said Blumenthal. “The Sunshine in Product Safety Act essentially would remove the restrictions that now straightjacket the agency in providing warnings and notices of recall…It puts the wolf in charge of the hen house. It means that the Commission is in effect handcuffed in the kinds of warnings it can provide.”

The full transcript of Blumenthal’s remarks is available below. A recording of the virtual press conference can be found here.

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT): Thank you very, very much Teresa and congratulations and thank you on the great work that you’ve done again on Trouble in Toyland. Another in a series of really profoundly significant reports based on real research that PIRG has done. And I want to thank you personally and all of your team.

You know the temptation always is to try to cover everything and do a list of all the potentially dangerous toys. I want to focus on just a couple of aspects. First, foremost, most importantly, I am just astonished and appalled at the numbers of recalled products freely available on Facebook Marketplace and eBay. I am just flabbergasted at the absence of any real responsibility on the part of these platforms for what they are selling. Literally they are a source of trouble in toyland, potentially dangerous and even deadly toys freely available without any warning to parents and caregivers. Now I understand that the buyers have a responsibility, but buyer beware is not enough. These platforms have a moral and a legal responsibility in my view to do better.

So the numbers of toys available, the kinds of potential dangers, I think merit more serious attention from consumers, from the CSPC, from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, from all of the potential oversight officials including the United States Congress. And as the Chair of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection of the Senate Commerce Committee, I certainly intend to follow up on this issue.

You know I think there still are dangers in the button batteries. Reese’s Law shows we can pass measures that will improve safety. For example, these batteries commonly found in all different kinds of devices, still a source of potential danger, and manufacturers in fact are adopting new means of protecting kids. The bitter batteries that Duracell is developing, the different kinds of batteries that may be less dangerous because of their chemical components I think offer some promise.

But we need to move forward with the Sunshine in Product Safety Act. It’s in the Commerce Committee now. I’m proud to have introduced it. It’s bicameral and we need more Republican support for it. As you know, the Sunshine in Product Safety Act would repeal Section 6(b) which right now is a very significant restraint on the ability of the CPSC to warn consumers about the potential dangers of toys that should be recalled. And the need to negotiate, which gives toy manufacturers in effect the veto power over warnings, I think has to be repealed, and free the government agency that’s supposed to protect kids and consumers to do its job in this area.

Finally let me say, for the CPSC, for this agency to do better, we need to give it the money that it needs, the resources that are necessary. And that will be a continuing struggle and a continuing goal of mine. But parents should be on the lookout for not only recalled toys but also small parts in toys that could pose dangers. And of course always balloons, which when deflated or burst can be ingested by kids. Three deaths over this past year alone, and they are unfortunately a continuing source of tragedy. Balloons are great, they’re fun. But when they’re burst, when the deflated parts of the balloon are available for kids crawling on the floor to ingest, they can result in trips to the emergency room or worse. So thank you again to PIRG for this excellent report.  

The Sunshine in Product Safety Act essentially would remove the restrictions that now straightjacket the agency in providing warnings and notices of recall. Those restrictions are in effect that the Consumer Product Safety Commission negotiate with the manufacturer before it issues those warnings and tailor the public notice to what is acceptable to the manufacturer. It puts the wolf in charge of the hen house. It means that the Commission is in effect handcuffed in the kinds of warnings it can provide. So eliminating or repealing Section 6(b) would liberate the commission. Likewise the format would provide for great disclosure and transparency.

But let’s come back to the issue that you just raised with the Chairman. We wrote to Facebook, Meta, Marketplace and the response that we got back was completely and inexcusably inadequate. In effect, the platform said to us, “Not our problem. It’s the consumer’s problem. It’s the CPSC’s problem. It’s not our problem.” But they have the tools, as you’ve just pointed out. There’s no mystery here. There’s no great scientific advance that has to be accomplished. The safety of kids is at stake and they’re saying in effect, “We see no evil, we hear no evil, not our problem.” But in fact, it should be made their problem and that’s why I think more and more legislation should be necessary to impose on them liability and legal responsibility if they fail to provide sufficient notice of a recalled product. 

-30-