TikTok, Temu Remove Low-Priced Heaters From Marketplace Over Fire Risk

Tiktok and Temu, two leading Chinese e-commerce firms, have removed cheap electric heaters from their respective marketplaces. According to reports, the devices may cause shock, explode, or start a fire.

Testing Products for Consumers' Safety

As per BBC News, cheap heating devices pose a serious safety risk, so they must not be sold. However, popular influencers are promoting some of them on TikTok, so many people may have already purchased them or were enticed to buy them.

TikTok and Temu quickly delisted the electric heaters from their online shops after a consumer research group called "Which?" discovered that some heating equipment might explode or cause fires. The researchers chose eight heaters, the cheapest they could find on TikTok and Temu, and tested them out.

Findings of Researchers

Which? said the cheapest item was priced at just £7.20, and their tests showed that some did not pass the safety standards set in the United Kingdom. The research group added that although Temu and TikTok pulled out the items from their shopping platforms, more similar products have cropped up again to replace the canceled ones.

"With the coldest months of the year upon us, you might think a portable electric heater is a good solution - particularly if you have been tempted by videos from TikTok influencers or low prices on Temu," Matt Stevens, Principal researcher and writer, said in his post. "But we have found many of the products being offered for sale on these platforms are likely to be dangerous."

He added, "Three of the five heaters we bought through TikTok were unsafe and the instructions for a fourth were lacking key safety warnings. All three heaters bought through Temu presented a danger to anyone using them. Find out more about the heaters to avoid and why these models should be removed from sale."

Finally, The Standard reported that overall, three of the five heaters purchased on Tiktok were not safe to use, and another one had no safety warning on the instruction manual. On the other hand, three units from Temu are also dangerous.

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