Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Amazon, eBay and AliExpress found to be selling illegal weapons

Amazon, eBay and AliExpress found to be selling illegal weapons

Amazon, eBay, Wish and AliExpress are under fire after an investigation found illegal weapons such as knives, swords and batons were being sold on the online platforms.

The UK’s consumer organisation Which? found that the illegal weapons were being sold by third-party sellers who came under different names.

UK law - including the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 - prohibits the sale of these weapons in the country and they cannot be owned in a household.

If a person were to be caught with illegal weapons, they could face arrest and a prison sentence.

"It is disturbing that our latest investigation has uncovered illegal weapons being sold on online marketplaces at extraordinarily cheap prices and that these tech firms are also pushing additional dangerous items to people," said Sue Davies, head of consumer protection policy at Which?.

"This raises big question marks over the checks and monitoring being done by these platforms,” she added, urging online marketplaces need to take “more responsibility” and prevent illegal weapons from appearing on their sites.

Searching on Amazon, Which? discovered friction batons - which are illegal to buy and sell in the United Kingdom - were “masquerading as trekking poles” on the site.

According to the group, some of the listings used special characters, such as "bătõň," in the title or only used the word baton in the artwork.

The consumer group said this was presumably to avoid detection by Amazon, while some of the images on the listings indicated that they could be used for self-defence and fighting.

On eBay, the investigation found illegal knuckle dusters, swords and Zombie knives and a 27-inch zombie blade. EBay's terms and conditions state that none of these weapons should be sold on its platform.

Experts said on the website AliExpress, they found a "large number of flick knives, hidden blades, and a raft of ‘self-defence rings’" designed to be worn as knuckle dusters, priced at just £0.49 (€0.58).

On Wish, the consumer group found concealed blades and several belt buckle knives.


How did the tech platforms respond?


Amazon said it would take "appropriate enforcement" against the baton sellers and that it had removed the “products in question”.

“We are disappointed when bad actors evade our systems and we will use these learnings to improve our prevention mechanisms. These products have now been removed from the store,” the company said in a statement.

EBay said it was investigating why the items were not blocked and said it takes the safety of its customers “very seriously”.

“As an international marketplace our policies vary across the world and some of the listings highlighted by Which? are permitted under US policy and sold by US registered sellers,” it said in a statement.

“UK buyers are blocked from purchasing these knives. We are investigating why this block did not take place in this instance”.

Wish said it was "exploring remedial action against any offending merchants".

In a statement, the company said: "While we have a number of systems and methods in place to prevent the appearance of illegal weapons, it appears, on this occasion, our merchants have identified a way to circumvent our processes”.

AliExpress said it had removed the listings and was launching an investigation.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Hungary's Prime Minister Criticizes NATO's Role in Ukraine
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Hungarian Scientist to Conduct 30 Research Experiments on the International Space Station
×