More than two years after recalling nearly 1.7 million Ionic smartwatches sold worldwide, Google-owned Fitbit is warning consumers that the products can overheat and cause burns. It will pay a $12.2 million fine for failing to do so, federal regulators announced Thursday.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Fitbit received numerous reports of the watch’s lithium-ion battery overheating from 2018 to 2019 and again in 2020. In early 2020, Fitbit issued an update to address the flaw, but complaints from people suffering from burns continue and Fitbit did not report the issue to regulators as legally required.
“Health-conscious people were wearing Fitbit Ionic smartwatches to track their fitness, but they didn’t realize the watches were putting their safety at risk,” said CPSC Commissioner Rich Trumka Jr. They didn’t know about the danger because Fitbit didn’t say anything.” in a statement Thursday.
CPSC and Fitbit announced a recall In March 2020, the company announced that it had received 115 reports in the United States of Ionic smartwatch batteries overheating. Domestic customers reported 78 burns, including two third-degree burns and four second-degree burns. A further 40 incidents were reported internationally.
Fitbit discontinued production of its Ionic model in 2020, which was used to track activity, heart rate, and sleep.
Consumer Product Safety Commission
“Customer safety remains our top priority, and we are pleased to resolve this matter with the CPSC resulting from the 2022 Fitbit Ionic voluntary recall,” a Google spokesperson said. Fitbit sold for $2.1 billion In 2019.
Approximately 1 million of the recalled smartwatches were sold in the U.S. from September 2017 to December 2021 at retailers such as Best Buy, Kohl’s, and Target, and online at Amazon.com and Fitbit.com. It was done. The products retailed for $200 to $330 each. . An additional 693,000 units were sold overseas, the company said.
The 2020 recall comes eight years after Fitbit recalled its Fitbit Force activity-tracking wristbands after nearly 9,900 reports of the wristbands irritating the skin and 250 reports of the wristbands causing blisters. It was done.
In addition to the $12.25 million civil penalty, the settlement agreement requires Fitbit to maintain internal controls and procedures to ensure compliance with consumer product safety laws. The company also agreed to submit an annual report on its compliance program and internal controls, the CPSC said.
