Amazon and UL, the leading organization for product safety testing and certification, reached a settlement in July with several Chinese manufacturers of electric bikes operating under the Aipas brand. This lawsuit was sparked by concerns over fraudulent safety claims.
The US company accused the Chinese firms in January of falsely advertising adherence to UL certification standards on their Amazon product listings and the iPass website. This misrepresentation aimed to provide customers with confidence against risks, including lithium-ion battery fires often associated with e-bikes. However, these claims were unsubstantiated. On July 15, a federal judge approved a permanent injunction preventing both entities from utilizing the UL Mark in the future and from facilitating similar infractions by other parties.
The legal filing indicates that the implicated Chinese companies—Jiangmen Mei A-Sheng Bicycle, Hong Kong Manchester International Trading, Shenzhen Aibosi Sports Technology, Guangzhou Aier Fei Le Sports Technology, and Mr. Tang Shuhui—do not acknowledge any liability or wrongdoing related to the accusations of knowingly employing fraudulent safety marks made by Amazon and UL.
Nevertheless, ”WIRED” has uncovered that Facebook ads featuring the bright red UL logo are still being circulated in relation to the Aipas e-bikes. A WIRED journalist encountered one of these ads in mid-July, post-agreement on the permanent injunction. Furthermore, at least one ad utilizing the UL mark has been active on Facebook since April, indicating ongoing issues even after the lawsuit initiation, as shown by Meta’s advertising library. An additional ad with the UL logo was reported to have vanished from the ad library following inquiries by WIRED to both iPass and UL for comment.
WIRED also revealed that several months after promoting the UL Safety Mark, some Aipas e-bikes and their batteries finally acquired safety certifications from recognized organizations, although some of those certifications have since been revoked.
An Amazon representative declined to comment on the ongoing lawsuit. UL spokesperson Bradley Carlson also refrained from discussing the specifics of the case but mentioned that the UL team is “aware of and actively addressing” concerns linked to Facebook advertisements. Neither iPass Ebike nor the legal counsel representing the Chinese company responded to multiple requests for statements.
While disputes over fake product safety certifications are not always brought into the public eye, “It’s a recurring issue that has persisted for a considerable time,” noted a seasoned product safety expert, who now runs his own consulting company.
This alarming trend has notable implications for electric mobility devices, particularly electric bicycles. A report issued by the US government study from April highlighted that between 2017 and 2024, there were 45 fatalities linked to fires from lithium-ion batteries in mobility devices, 19 of which were specifically related to e-bikes. The New York City Fire Department is closely monitoring incidents of lithium-ion battery fires, having reported 277 technology-related fires in 2024, compared to 268 e-bike-related fires in 2023.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), an independent federal agency, indicates that numerous e-bike fires stem from battery pack replacements. They recommend consumers exclusively use micromobility devices that are “designed, manufactured, and certified to comply with the relevant consensus safety standards established by an accredited laboratory.” For more details, visit its website.
The risk of counterfeit authentication is notably elevated in online marketplaces like Amazon, warns Gabe Knight, a senior policy analyst at Consumer Reports. “Consumers face a significant risk of acquiring counterfeit products from third-party sellers, which extends to those with fake certification marks,” she states. In general, retailers that engage directly with consumers, rather than merely facilitating sales, tend to provide more reliable safety assurances due to their internal compliance programs designed to verify manufacturers’ safety claims.
Source: www.wired.com