London, UK – Consumer group Which? has called for online marketplaces to take more legal responsibility for the safety of the products sold on their platforms, following the discovery of unsafe electric heaters being sold on TikTok and Temu.
Which? purchased and tested eight heaters, costing as little as £7.20, from TikTok Shop and Temu, and found that six of them were unsafe. The tested heaters were found to pose risks such as causing electric shocks, starting fires, or exploding.
According to Which?, the heaters bought from these platforms had not been properly assembled, had easily accessible live parts, and lacked key safety warnings in their instructions. Only one out of the eight tested heaters was found to be both safe to use at home and legal to be sold in the UK.
The consumer group also found that when searching for ‘electric heaters’ on TikTok, it came across promotional videos for these dangerous products, some of which had over 100,000 views.
After Which? reported its findings, both TikTok and Temu removed all the identified unsafe heaters, along with 27 listings for identical dangerous heaters. However, the consumer group noted that more similar listings had since appeared in their place.
Responding to the report, Temu stated that all four identified unsafe heaters had been removed from its platform, expressing deep regret for any inconvenience caused to customers. TikTok, on the other hand, stated that it removes merchants or products that violate its policies.
In light of these findings, Which? is urging the government to impose greater legal responsibility on online marketplaces to prevent dangerous products from reaching consumers. The organization emphasized the urgent need for action to ensure the safety of products sold through these platforms.
The Department for Business and Trade also responded, stating that manufacturers and suppliers are responsible for placing safe products in the market and issuing instructions on their safe use. The department encouraged anyone with concerns about unsafe products to provide relevant information for consideration.
The discovery of unsafe electric heaters being sold on popular online marketplaces highlights the growing challenge of ensuring product safety in the digital retail space, prompting calls for stricter legal regulations and enforcement mechanisms to protect consumers from potential harm.