Return to sender

In a ruling that could shake up Amazon.com’s business ­practices, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission decided in late July the online retailer is responsible for properly recalling potentially dangerous products sold on its site by third-party vendors.

According to the CPSC, Amazon failed to inform consumers adequately about more than 400,000 recalled products. The products ranged from defective carbon monoxide detectors and flammable children’s pajamas to unsafe hair dryers. Third-party manufacturers sold the products between 2018 and 2021 through the Fulfillment by Amazon program.

Amazon argued that it was not legally responsible for sales made by third-party vendors. But regulators said that while the company did stop selling the goods and notified buyers of a “potential safety issue” with the products, Amazon didn’t encourage customers to return or discard the products.

In its decision, the CPSC noted an administrative law judge previously determined Amazon acted as a product distributor. The federal agency ordered the retailer to develop plans to notify the public about hazardous products and provide refunds or replacements. Amazon plans to appeal. More than 60 percent of sales on Amazon come from independent sellers.

Search a phone? Get a warrant, judge says

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents can no longer search travelers’ electronic devices at some ports of entry without a warrant. A U.S. District Court judge in New York ruled July 24 that doing so violates the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment.

The decision was part of a criminal case against Kurbonali Sultanov, a U.S. citizen whose phone was taken by border agents at John F. Kennedy Interna­tional Airport in 2022 after he was flagged as a potential purchaser or possessor of child pornography. Investigators later obtained a warrant for his phone and another phone in his possession. During his criminal trial, Sultanov filed a motion saying the initial search violated his Fourth Amendment rights.

While Judge Nina Morrison denied Sultanov’s motion to suppress the evidence, she also ruled the initial warrantless search was unconstitutional. The ruling applies only to the Eastern District of New York, which includes JFK and LaGuardia airports. —L.C.

Driverless trucks take to oil fields

Kodiak Robotics says a new partnership in the fracking industry will make it the first company to establish commercial autonomous driving operations. Kodiak announced July 23 it is partnering with Texas-based Atlas Energy Solutions, an oil field logistics provider, to develop a driverless system for delivering fracking sand to well sites. The businesses said they already used a driverless truck to travel 21 miles in West Texas’ Permian Basin to deliver a load of frac sand in May, and Kodiak aims to provide Atlas with two such trucks by year-end. —L.C.