The Federal Network Agency is removing thousands of dangerous electrical items from the market. These were recently available for purchase in Germany to a greater extent than before.
Last year, the Federal Network Agency said it removed 8,100 types of dangerous electronic devices from the market. The authority announced today that the total number is more than 73 million. Examples of these electrical items include radio-controlled sockets that pose a risk of electric shock, faulty power-saving boxes or voltage converters called inverters that disrupt police and fire brigade radio services.
Often missing Manufacturer information
The number of these dangerous products has increased significantly. In 2022 there were still 8,200 device types – the total number was 16 million. Manufacturer information that is necessary for sales in Germany was often missing.
A reason for the increase was not given. There had already been fluctuations in previous years. According to the Federal Network Agency, the different values are also due to the fact that in some years there were electronic items that were in stock in large quantities. In other years, products with relatively low sales volumes stood out.
Cooperation with customs
In order to get the problem of illegal products under control and to minimize the risk to consumers from dangerous items, the Federal Network Agency is working with customs. This reported 5,116 shipments of goods to the Bonn authorities last year, 92 percent of which were not approved after inspection. In 2022, 4,800 shipments of goods were reported, 91 percent of which were refused to be passed on.
“The trend of illegal and risky products from third countries continues,” explained Netzagentur President Klaus Müller. In collaboration with operators of online platforms, it was possible to stop the Internet sales of millions of products. “This is how we protect consumers from unauthorized products.”