Agency urges Meta to remove pillows linked to 10 infant deaths from Facebook Marketplace
Boppy newborn loungers were recalled in 2001
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The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and The Boppy Company are warning people using Facebook Marketplace customers and other online retailers of the hazards of the baby pillows after 10 infants suffocated in them despite the product being recalled nearly two years earlier.
The CPSC said Tuesday, June 6 that Boppy Newborn Loungers are no longer legally for sale, but it has found thousands of them on Facebook Marketplace since the 2021 recall began.
The agency wrote to Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook parent Meta Platforms, on Tuesday saying it had made repeated requests to have recalled items taken down from Marketplace. It cited the Boppy loungers as "a particularly egregious example" of a product that puts consumers at risk.
This photo released by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on Tuesday, June 6, 2023, shows, from left, the recalled Boppy Original Newborn Lounger, Boppy Preferred Newborn Lounger and Pottery Barn Kids Boppy Newborn Lounger. (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission via AP / AP Newsroom)
"Until these sales are stopped, babies will continue to be at risk of death," CPSC Commissioner Richard Trumka said in a statement. He added that Meta "has not taken effective action" in response to CPSC’s requests to take down the listing on the social media site.
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Over the past year, the CPSC has asked Meta to remove listings for Boppy loungers about a thousand times per month on average, the letter said.
"Meta can and should be doing much more to save lives," Trumka Jr. continued.
Meta’s online policy states that listings on Marketplace cannot promote or sell recalled products and encourages users to check current recalls before purchasing items. The company says that Marketplace posts featuring recalled products are removed when identified.
A security guard stands watch by the Meta sign outside the headquarters of Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc in Mountain View, California, U.S. November 9, 2022. (REUTERS/Peter DaSilva/File Photo / Reuters Photos)
In 2021, the Boppy Company is recalled over 3 million of its baby loungers after reports of eight infant deaths associated with the product in less than five years. Following the recall, two more infant fatalities were linked to the product.
"As moms, dads, grandparents, aunts and uncles, our hearts hurt for anyone who has lost a child. Boppy continues to encourage consumers still in possession of a Newborn Lounger to participate in the recall. After publicly calling on Meta to remove marketplace listings of Newborn Loungers, Boppy and the CPSC issued a reminder to consumers, online marketplaces, and secondhand retailers about that voluntary recall," a Boppy Company spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"Boppy also calls on consumers to always follow AAP and CPSC guidelines for safe sleep practices, including that the best place for a baby to sleep is on baby’s back on a firm, flat surface, free of any blankets, pillows, padded bumpers, or other items in the sleeping environment," a Boppy Company spokesperson continued.
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The CPSC said infants are at risk of suffocating if they "roll, move, or are placed on the lounger in a position that obstructs breathing." They can also suffocate by rolling "off the lounger onto an external surface, such as an adult pillow or soft bedding that obstructs breathing," the agency continued.
The loungers were sold at a variety of namesake retailers across the nation including Pottery Barn Kids, Target, Walmart and online at Amazon since January 2004 but taken off the shelves in 2021. Since then, the dangerous product has made its way to Facebook Marketplace and other online second-hand retailers.
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The Boppy Company and Meta did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.