The report that Fitbit's Ionic smartwatch was overheating began in 2018 and continued until 2020. However, US officials did not promptly report that the battery in the clock was causing unreasonable danger of serious injury or death, as obliged by law. Consumer.
On Thursday, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission agrees that Fitbit pays $ 1.2.25 million in civil fines, allegedly delaying reports that lithium -ion batteries in wristwatches could overheat and cause burns. I announced that it was.
The committee pointed out that the Fitbit has issued a firmware update in early 2020, which reduces the potential of battery overheating, as the report continues to be burned due to a clock. However, Fitbit did not voluntarily recover the Ionic smartwatch until March 2, 2022.
According to the committee, Fitbit has previously received at least 174 reports on lithium -ion battery overheating around the world, which reported 118 injuries, of which two were III. It is said that four cases have been burned second.
“”Fitbit should immediately report a large number of overheating, including the second and third burns, “said a commissioner Rich Trumka Jr. “Instead, Fitbit has broken the law by delaying the report and leaving consumers to the danger of burns. Many of these injuries could have been prevented.”
Fitbit's spokeswoman said in a statement on Friday, “I am happy to be able to solve this problem due to the self -recovery of Fitbit Ionic in 2022 with CPSC,” said Fitbit's spokeswoman.
This device, which tracks activities, heart rate, and sleep, was sold in the United States from September 2017 to December 2021 in the United States, and 693,000 units were sold worldwide. According to Fitbit, the injury report is less than 0.01 % of the total Aeon Watch. According to the Consumer Committee, the company stopped producing ionic in 2020.
According to the Consumer Committee, at the time of the recall in 2022, the owner was offered $ 299 after returning the Ionic Watch and receiving some Fitbit devices discount code.
As part of the reconciliation agreement, Fit bit agreed to submit an annual report, including the latest information on the effectiveness of the renewed compliance policy.
Google acquired Fitbit at $ 2.1 billion in early 2021 after not using Fitbit's health and wellness data for internet users.
In 2014, Fitbit recalled more than 1 million Force wristbands, as customers complained of severe skin stimuli.
However, in response to a similar complaint, the company added a warning on nickel allergy to avoid the recall of the flex wristband and a size guideline so that users would not wear too much wristband.