There has been a fresh call for regulation of online battery sales in the United Kingdom. This time, the appeal comes from the Fire Protection Association (FPA), which is the UK’s national fire safety watchdog. The association’s mission includes promoting fire safety standards, and lobbying government to address their issues and concerns together.
Greater Control Over Online Battery Sales Essential
The UK Product Regulation and Metrology Act of July 2025, gave the Minister for Employment Rights, Competition, and Markets greater control . The legislation empowers the Minister to identify, and regulate, products that present a high risk to consumers.
Lithium-ion batteries sold over the internet are a major cause of home battery fires. UK suppliers selling reputable products are battling to compete with online vendors, selling substandard products while disclaiming responsibility for defects.
Another UK lobby group, Electrical Safety First (ESF), is adding pressure on behalf of consumers, businesses, and public safety. If the Minister can regulate fireworks and heavy machinery, the ESF asks, then why not e-bikes and e-scooters and their batteries too?
Secondary Regulation Essential for Consumer Safety
The ESF is lobbying the Fire Protection Association to use its influence to convince the Minister to impose further regulation of online battery sales:
- Make online marketplaces accountable for the safety of all products sold. This includes proactively preventing the sale of unsafe products on their platforms.
- Empower regulators to issue heavy fines. And then take further enforcement action against online marketplaces that continue to fall short of the required standards.
Opportunity to Align Product Safety with Digital Age
Electrical Safety First sees this as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to modernize the UK’s product safety regime for the digital age.” The same could arguably be said for other nations too.
The ESF motivation leaves us with this thought: Why do our governments tolerate a double standard, that allows some online marketplaces to get away with selling products that risk injury and even death? While leaving law-abiding retailers, businesses, and manufacturers at an unfair disadvantage?
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