A popular sleeper recalled for being associated with roughly 100 baby deaths is still appearing for sale on social media marketplaces.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the government agency responsible for identifying unsafe consumer products, recalled the Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play Sleeper in 2019 after 32 infants died. Since then, at least 70 more deaths have been linked to the sleeper, according to the CPSC. Deaths occurred in the sleepers after babies rolled from their backs to their stomachs or sides while unrestrained.
Relevant Content:
But hundreds of these sleepers are turning up for resale every month on sites like Facebook Marketplace. Despite Meta saying last August that the company prohibits selling recalled products and takes steps to prevent it from happening, the CPSC’s surveillance team issued nearly 4,000 takedown requests for the sleepers between February 2022 and this March.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.
On Wednesday, the CPSC sent a letter to Meta urging the company to do more to keep the Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play Sleepers off of its e-commerce site.
“Facebook is uniquely positioned to identify recalled and violative products like the Rock ‘n Play and stop their sale before they are listed. This would guarantee that these dangerous products are not sold and family tragedies are averted,” the CPSC wrote.
In the letter, the CPSC recommends that Meta makes it clearer to sellers that they cannot market recalled products and incorporates a way for consumers to flag recalled and hazardous products.
The CPSC also urged Fisher-Price to reannounce the recall with an incentive for consumers to destroy the sleepers. The recall was reannounced in January but had no “observable effect on the pace of listings,” the CPSC said.
In a statement to NBC, a spokesperson for Meta said that company policies prohibit the sale of recalled goods.
“Like other platforms where people can buy and sell goods, there are instances of people knowingly or unknowingly selling recalled goods on Marketplace. We take this issue seriously and when we find listings that violate our rules, we remove them," the company spokesperson said.
