An Ebike Company Was Sued for Misleading Info on Safety. It Points to a Big Problem

Amazon and UL, a institution that tests and certifies that products conscionable information standards, settled a suit successful July with respective Chinese companies that manufacture ebikes nether the Aipas marque name.

The US companies accused the Chinese firms successful January of claiming successful Amazon listings and connected Aipas’ website that the ebikes had been certified by UL, giving recognizable, brand-name assurance to online shoppers disquieted astir risks similar ebike lithium-ion artillery fires. But that wasn’t true. On July 15, a national justice signed disconnected connected a imperishable injunction successful which the companies agreed that they would nary longer usage the UL mark. It besides bars them from “assisting, aiding, oregon abetting immoderate different idiosyncratic oregon business” successful doing the same.

The filing notes that the Chinese companies didn’t admit liability oregon wrongdoing tied to Amazon’s and UL’s accusations of knowingly utilizing fraudulent safety-certification marks. (The enterprises progressive are Jiangmen Meijiasheng Bicycle, Hong Kong Manchester International Trading, Shenzhen Aibosi Sport Technology, Guangzhou Aierfeile Sport Technology, and the idiosyncratic Tang Shuhui, who the suit alleges was progressive successful an Amazon selling account.)

But WIRED has recovered a Facebook relationship associated with Aipas Ebike inactive moving ads that see UL’s agleam reddish logo. A WIRED newsman was served 1 of the ads successful mid-July, adjacent aft the companies had agreed to a imperishable injunction. At slightest 1 different advertisement utilizing the UL people has been actively moving connected Facebook since April, months aft the suit was filed, according to Meta's Ad Library. Another progressive advertisement including the UL people and archetypal posted successful May appeared to vanish from the Ad Library aft WIRED contacted some Aipas and UL for comment.

WIRED besides recovered that portion immoderate Aipas ebikes and their batteries did yet person information certifications from a nationally recognized organization, seemingly months aft the institution began advertizing its UL information marks, immoderate of those certificates are present inactive.

A spokesperson for Amazon declined to remark connected the lawsuit. Bradley Carlson, a spokesperson for UL, besides declined to remark connected the suit but said the UL squad is “aware and moving to resolve” the issues related to the Facebook ads. Neither Aipas Ebike nor the lawyer representing the Chinese businesses successful tribunal responded to aggregate requests for comment.

While fights implicit fraudulent merchandise information certifications don’t ever interruption retired into nationalist view, “this is simply a communal occupation and has been a communal occupation for rather immoderate time,” says Donald Mays, a longtime merchandise information adept who present runs his ain consulting firm.

The inclination has troubling implications, particularly for electrical mobility devices similar ebikes. A study published by the US authorities successful April recovered that 45 fatalities betwixt 2017 and 2024 were associated with fires related to lithium-ion batteries successful mobility devices, 19 of them related to ebikes alone. The New York City Fire Department, which tracks lithium-ion artillery fires, logged 277 fires tied to the tech successful 2024, compared with 268 successful 2023, and linked them to ebikes.

Many of the country’s ebike fires were associated with replacement artillery packs, arsenic noted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, an autarkic national agency. The bureau has urged consumers to usage lone micromobility devices “designed, manufactured, and certified for compliance by an accredited laboratory with the applicable statement information standards,” according to its website.

The mendacious certification is much prevalent connected online marketplaces similar Amazon, says Gabe Knight, a elder argumentation expert astatine Consumer Reports. “Just arsenic consumers are much astatine hazard to bargain a counterfeit product, period, from third-party sellers, they are much astatine hazard to bargain a merchandise with a fabricated certification mark,” she says. In general, retailers who merchantability products to consumers directly, alternatively than simply hosting sales, bash a amended occupation of guaranteeing their merchandise’s information claims, she says; these retailers usually person interior compliance programs to verify manufacturers’ basal information claims.