February 4, 2023, 6:09 am | Read time: 2 minutes
Time and again, products with defects or insufficient labeling end up on the market. According to the Federal Network Agency, most bans affect online trade.
Last year, the Federal Network Agency stopped the sale of more than 15 million banned products. Among them were nearly 2.8 million “energy-saving devices,” as the regulatory authority reported.
Fake CE Marking on Alleged Energy-Saving Devices
The devices, often with questionable energy-saving functions, showed visible formal defects, such as fake CE markings, missing German operating instructions, or lack of responsible European contacts for warranty or damage claims. The operation of such defective devices is prohibited in Germany.
“The number of products we removed from the market was again very high last year. This is how we protect consumers from unsafe products,” said Klaus Müller, president of the Federal Network Agency. In 2021, the agency even stopped the sale of nearly 23 million products.
Last year, the agency also banned the sale of 3.2 million light effect devices for private use, such as strobe cubes or disco balls. Experts criticized, among other things, that devices operated in unauthorized laser classes. Additionally, the agency prohibited the distribution of over 2 million remote controls and radio transmitters, often due to the unauthorized use of military frequency bands.
Majority of Bans Affected Online Trade
The lion’s share of the bans affected online trade. Here, the agency identified more than 2,600 suspicious offers and ensured they were removed from sales platforms. More than 13 million devices were affected.
Due to inspections in German retail, the agency issued 23 additional sales bans and demanded corrections in 1,145 other cases. This affected a total of about 1.7 million devices.
This included, among other things, battery chargers that could cause interference with safety-relevant radio services, military radio applications, and IP services. The sale of smart radio sockets that did not meet safety requirements due to the risk of electric shock or fire was also stopped.
Last year, customs reported around 4,800 suspicious shipments to the Federal Network Agency. In about 91 percent of the cases, the products were not approved for the European market. A total of around 720,000 devices were affected.