Product safety is a major concern in the consumer electronics industry.
Devices designed for everyday use can sometimes pose unexpected risks, leading to recalls, lawsuits, and financial penalties.
One of the latest cases involves Fitbit, a fitness equipment company owned by Google, which has agreed to pay a $12 million fine following reports of serious burns caused by its smartwatches.
Burn User's Skin
The issue stems from the Fitbit Ionic, a smartwatch first released in 2017.
Consumers began reporting problems in 2018, with incidents continuing into 2020, according to Ziare.
The problem was linked to battery overheating, which caused some devices to burn users' skin.
Despite issuing a firmware update in early 2020, the company failed to fully resolve the issue.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) determined that the defect posed a significant risk of injury or even death.
Fitbit eventually issued a recall in March 2022, but regulators found that the company failed to report the issue in a timely manner, as required by law.
According to the CPSC, 115 U.S. consumers reported problems related to battery overheating.
Of those cases, 78 involved burns, with two classified as third-degree burns and four as second-degree burns.
Additional reports came from international customers, bringing the total number of overheating incidents to 174 worldwide.
As part of the settlement, Fitbit must submit an annual safety report to the CPSC, conduct an internal safety audit, and maintain stricter compliance controls to ensure future product safety.
The recall affected over one million Fitbit Ionic smartwatches sold in the United States and 693,000 sold internationally.
While the number of burn incidents remains relatively low compared to the 1.7 million units sold, the company stated that it initiated the recall out of caution for its users.
