U.S. regulator sues Amazon to force recalls of dangerous products

Government safety regulators are suing the world's biggest online retailer, looking to hold Amazon accountable for ridding its site of unsafe merchandise sold by third parties.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission voted 3-to-1 to approve the administrative complaint filed against Amazon on Wednesday. It seeks to to force Amazon to stop selling potentially hazardous items, to work with CPSC staff on recalls and to directly notify and offer refunds to those who purchased them.  Amazon, for example, sold more than 24,600 carbon monoxide detectors that failed to activate when the gas was present and sold nearly 400,000 hair dryers sold without mandated devices to protect against shock and electrocution, the CPSC said.