A Call for Statutory Reform: Online Marketplaces that Profit from Product Sales Should Be Held Strictly Liable as Sellers

Today, Americans purchase roughly 16% of all consumer goods through online marketplaces such as Amazon. While traditional brick-and-mortar retailers that sell defective products are strictly liable for harm caused by those products, online marketplace retailers, which serve analogous roles in defective product sales, can often evade liability entirely. Amazon, for instance, is immune from liability for product defects in more than 60% of sales conducted on its website in almost every state. This Note explains why online marketplaces that profit from defective product sales should be strictly liable for harm those products cause, and why courts often refuse to hold them liable nonetheless. It then examines proposed legislation holding online marketplace retailers accountable for such harm, before setting forth a model statute.