Flipkart, Meesho, Amazon and others get CCPA notice over illegal sale of walkie-talkies amid escalating India-Pakistan tensions

The 13 notices have gone to Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho, OLX, TradeIndia, Facebook, Indiamart, VardaanMart, Jiomart, Krishnamart, Chimiya, Talk Pro Walie Talkie and MaskMan toys, the CCPA said.

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has issued 13 notices to digital marketplaces such as Flipkart, Meesho, Amazon and others asking them not to list and sell walkie-talkies without on their platforms amid growing tensions between India and its neighbour Pakistan.

Unauthorised walkie-talkies, a set of wireless communicating devices, can be used by perpetrators to plot against the country, especially at a time when tensions between two countries are brewing.

“Walkie-talkies are being sold on e-commerce platforms without mandatory and clear disclosures regarding the requirement of a wireless operating license or compliance with applicable laws…without proper frequency disclosure, licensing information, or Equipment Type Approval (ETA) which constitutes a violation of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019,” the CCPA said on May 9.

Several of the firms were still assessing the impact of this decision when Moneycontrol contacted them.

The 13 notices have gone to Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho, OLX, TradeIndia, Facebook, Indiamart, VardaanMart, Jiomart, Krishnamart, Chimiya, Talk Pro Walie Talkie and MaskMan toys, the CCPA said.

Of those, Amazon had 467 listings of walkie-talkies, Flipkart had 314, Meesho had 489 such listings, and 423 such listings were available on TradeIndia, as per a preliminary analysis across platforms which, the CCPA said, was “an alarming volume.”

The CCPA has requested information regarding the name and contact details of each seller, product URLs and listing IDs of the walkie-talkie devices, details of frequency specifications, details of sellers and a comprehensive list of the number of units sold per listing from January 2023 to date.

The product listings for walkie-talkies do not specify whether the device requires a license from the concerned authority for use. The matters were discussed during a meeting on May 9 where the CCPA spoke with representatives of Meta, Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho and IndiaMart. The meeting was chaired by Nidhi Khare, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs.

To prevent such events from happening the next time, the CCPA has issued guidelines to e-commerce firms and asked for strict compliance.

“Amazon operates a marketplace in India. We require sellers who list and sell products on Amazon to comply with applicable laws, regulations, and Amazon policies. Upon being notified of any non-compliance, we take appropriate action. We are engaged closely with various stakeholders, including regulators, to provide customers with a great shopping experience,” a spokesperson of the e-commerce giant said in a statement.