The 18th of July, the European Commission and national market surveillance authorities presented the results of the first ever product safety sweep since the new product safety rules entered into force. The sweep targeted childcare products sold online in the EU, such as baby carriers and pacifiers. While the sweep found that online marketplaces respect basic requirements (95% provided the right product identification with, for example, pictures or barcodes), it also showed that more is needed to ensure that consumers receive all the necessary safety information, for example, on the manufacturer or responsible contact person in the EU. Only 53% of marketplaces designated the required point of contact for the relevant market surveillance authorities and registered with the Safety Gate Portal. Market surveillance authorities also reported that when dangerous products are removed following a takedown order, some of them re-appeared in the marketplaces.
Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security, and Democracy, said: “Europeans deserve safe products, whether purchased online or offline. Thanks to this sweep, we have a clear idea of how our online marketplaces are doing in practice to ensure that the goods we let into our home are safe. While we see a general compliance, we can also see some room for improvement. We now call on national authorities to ensure the correct follow-up to these findings”
Michael McGrath, Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law, and Consumer Protection said: “This sweep is one of the new tools introduced under our new product safety rules. It proves to be a valuable instrument for checking compliance across online marketplaces and will directly inform our future actions. Our goal remains clear: to ensure that only safe products make their way into the hands of European consumers – whether bought online or offline.”
The aim of the sweep was to verify whether traders offering these products and online marketplaces intermediating their sale were adhering to the General Product Safety Regulation. Consumer authorities checked over 1,700 offers of childcare articles from 47 online marketplaces from 1 April to 15 May 2025, including the designated Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs): AliExpress, Amazon, Shein, Temu and Zalando. As a follow-up to these findings, national authorities sent 252 orders and other requests to online marketplaces to screen their responses (79% were replied to). The Consumer Safety Network, together with the Commission, will continue monitoring the compliance of products sold in the EU market, both online and offline, and take the relevant enforcement measures where necessary, including in cases where dangerous products reappear on marketplaces after their removal. The Commission will also report on the findings of the sweep as part of the evaluation of the actions and initiatives announced in its e-commerce Communication. The Commission will continue to engage with businesses and companies in the EU, including with the signatories of the Product Safety Pledge+ to identify and remedy any potential issues. More information on the findings can be found online.
