June 2 (Reuters) - Australia's competition watchdog said on Tuesday it had issued takedown requests to Amazon, eBay, Kogan, and Fruugo for toys and games containing potentially deadly small magnets, as part of its investigation.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is investigating the supply of banned and potentially deadly toys and games containing small high-powered magnets, including ‘magnetic chess’ or ‘magnetic battle chess’ style games being sold to Australian consumers
online, it said in a statement.
The investigation found sellers were listing banned products containing high-powered magnets on online marketplaces, ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said.
The regulator said it has sent take-down requests to Amazon, eBay, Kogan, and Fruugo for the affected listings and asked them to take additional measures to prevent sellers from relisting the same or similar products.
All four companies have committed to act on ACCC's measures and contact affected customers to warn them about the safety risks. Kogan, Amazon and Fruugo have also "provided, or offered to provide" refunds to customers who purchased the affected products, subject to the ACCC's investigation, the statement added.
Lowe recommended that all online and brick-and-mortar businesses review their toys and games immediately, issue recalls, and provide refunds in the event of non-compliance.
The regulator will continue to investigate the supply of banned products and, where appropriate, consider enforcement action, Lowe added.
An eBay spokesperson said listings identified as non-compliant with the company's Product Safety Policy, including those subject to the permanent ban on small high-powered magnets, were promptly removed after a review following its engagement with the regulator.
Amazon and Kogan did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment, while Fruugo could not be contacted immediately.
On Friday, the regulator initiated legal action against Amazon's local unit, alleging breaches of product safety labelling laws regarding children's backpacks.
(Reporting by Sherin Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Rashmi Aich)
