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Reclining chairs, which are supposed to be used when babies are awake and supervised, can put babies at risk of suffocation or suffocation within minutes, researchers have found.
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A recalled baby pillow now linked to at least 10 infant deaths is still widely sold on Facebook Marketplace, and federal regulators are calling on the company to do more to stop sales.
A range of newborn reclining chairs from The Boppy Company was recalled in September 2021 after eight deaths were linked to the product. Shortly after the recall, two more babies died while sleeping on the pillows Consumer Product Safety Commission said in a press release Tuesday.
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In an October 2021 incident, an infant was placed on the lounger to sleep and later died of positional asphyxiation after rolling under a nearby adult pillow, the agency said.
The following month, another child was placed on a lounger in an adult bed with a parent present and was later found dead on the pillow, the agency said, adding that the cause of death was undetermined.
The products are dangerous because babies can suffocate if they roll over, move around or are placed on the lounger in a position that interferes with breathing, the CPSC said. Babies can also suffocate if they roll off the lounger onto another surface, such as an adult pillow, the agency said.
The sale of the recalled products, including the Boppy Original Newborn Lounger, the Boppy Preferred Newborn Lounger and the Pottery Barn Kids Boppy Newborn Lounger, has been illegal for nearly two years. But the CPSC has found thousands of the recalled recliners for sale on Facebook Marketplace, the agency’s commissioners and chairman wrote in a Tuesday letter addressed to Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook parent meta.
The agency has formally requested Meta — about a thousand times a month on average — to remove the listings, but the products are still available on the site and sales are continuing, the letter said.
“These sales are illegal; it is against the law to sell recalled consumer products, whether new or used,” the letter said. “Far too often the CPSC has found (recalled) products for sale on Facebook Marketplace even after recall information has been provided to your company. We are calling on you to identify recalled and infringing products and prevent your users listing them. By allowing such products to be posted, you are putting Facebook Marketplace users at risk.”
In response, a Meta spokesperson told CNBC that it is taking the issue seriously.
“Like other platforms where people can buy and sell goods, there are cases where people knowingly or unknowingly sell recalled goods on Marktplaats,” said the spokesperson. “If we find ads that violate our rules, we’ll remove them.”
The company noted that its policy prohibits the sale of recalled goods and said it is working closely with governments, regulators and manufacturers to identify recalled products for sale on its platform.
The CPSC has found thousands of the recalled recliners for sale on Facebook Marketplace.
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It relies on its trade rating system, which is largely automated, to enforce its policies, but said staff review lists manually in some cases.
The CPSC commissioners said the sale of recalled products on Facebook Marketplace is an ongoing problem involving more than just the baby pillows, but called the sale of Boppy recliners a “particularly egregious example.”
In April, Alexander Hoehn-Saric, the chairman of the CPSC, wrote to Meta about the sale of the recalled Fisher Price Rock ‘n Play Sleeper on Facebook Marketplace. In the agency’s Tuesday letter, it noted that Meta had made searching for the product more difficult after the letter was sent, but consumers could still find and purchase it.
“This is a useful first step, but a system that prioritizes preventing such sales should be able to identify recalled products in real time and not just restrict searches when the matter comes to government attention and public awareness. will,” the letter said.
“As a leading technology company, Meta can and must deploy the necessary resources to protect consumers by preventing both the listing and sale of recalled products,” it continued. “It should also include access to recall information, making it easier for consumers to identify recalled products and obtain available remedies to address the hazards they pose.”
Instead of embedding recall information directly into Marketplace listings, the company directs buyers and sellers to “check the item’s manufacturer’s website” to find out if the item has been recalled in a post.
Meta noted that it has been in contact with Boppy and is working with the company to remove entries flagged on its teams.
The CPSC asked Meta to respond by June 30 with any changes it plans to make to address sales of recalled products.
