Libby Baldwin

Lawyers for Amazon, the e-commerce giant with $575 billion in revenue, filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on March 14. The lawsuit was submitted in federal district court in Maryland and marks the latest development in a three-year-long battle between Amazon and the government agency responsible for protecting citizens from unsafe products.

Legislation introduced in at least eight states could limit chemical company Bayer’s liability in Roundup lawsuits, significantly affecting whether people who developed cancer after Roundup exposure will settle successfully. Many of the Roundup lawsuits filed against Bayer allege that the company failed to warn consumers about the risks of the weed killer. Bayer acquired biotechnology company Monsanto, the original developer of Roundup, in 2018.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has ruled that Amazon must recall dangerous products sold on the platform, even if they are sold by third parties. The regulator’s final decision, released last month, comes after a July 2024 ruling that classifies the e-commerce giant as a distributor under the Consumer Product Safety Act. As a distributor, Amazon bears a legal responsibility for recalling dangerous products and informing customers of those dangers.