The EP rapporteur on Toy safety, Brando BENIFEI (S&D, IT), is proposing measures to ensure that toys sold on the EU market, including from third countries and online, are safe. For instance, it addresses how to tackle chemicals contained in toys and labelling issues, the challenges posed by the new technologies embedded in toys, the need to strengthen market surveillance and to enhance the involvement of online platforms.

Brussels

statement

consumer product safety (T)

BENIFEI, Brando (S&D, IT)

Toy safety - Statement by Brando BENIFEI (S&D, IT), rapporteur

Title: Toy safety - Statement by Brando BENIFEI (S&amp;D,IT), rapporteur 

SOUNDBITE (English), Brando BENIFEI (S&amp;D, IT), Rapporteur, The Toy Safety Directive is now under a process of revision by Commission, and so the implementation report that the Parliament has proposed is a way for the European Parliament to contribute to this, a reflection on what should be improved. Then what do we think it should be improved? We think, as Parliament, that to ensure more safety for children when they are playing with their toys, that we ensure better protection from chemicals, strengthening also labelling on that and also on the risks related to connected toys and to the risk of unsafe products. So we have different aspects that need to be strengthened because children are especially vulnerable consumers. So we cannot accept low levels of protection towards carcinogenic, mutagenic and also towards the risk for the data being misused.

SOUNDBITE (English), Brando BENIFEI (S&amp;D, IT), Rapporteur, The market surveillance is not working effectively. When we look at what happens at the level of the e-commerce, we see too many unsafe products, too much risk for children. We want to enlarge the scope of the responsibilities of the platforms on detection and removal of very risky products. We are asking for that. And that's also why we are a bit concerned that keeping the directive as an instrument can be problematic because of the different applications. So we also suggest to the Commission to convert the toy safety into a regulation, so it could be more coherent and clear for all the member states.

SOUNDBITE (English), Brando BENIFEI (S&amp;D, IT), Rapporteur, Connected toys are a new challenge. Obviously today we already have many toys that are interacting with each other, that are using data, that are connected to the internet. We need to be sure that the existing norms, like data protection, that already exists and also new norms that will be now under scrutiny by the Parliament, because often they are able to collect sensitive data and to be used also for any kind of objective if we don't put a clear safety rules. So we need to be sure that we are proved against the cyber security risks, against attacks, against the misuse of data, especially looking at childrens.