We are approaching the holiday season, and shoppers will soon begin filling their online carts with gifts. This time of year, there is a case that I think about often. The case involved a mother who had lost her child due to a dangerous product—a teething necklace—sold through a popular online marketplace. She faced the most excruciating event any parent could imagine because our laws allow, and perhaps even incentivize, dangerous products to be sold through well-known and trusted online retailers with little or no recourse for the consumer. It’s a sobering reality of shopping online today.

Unfortunately, the balance of power has shifted so heavily toward corporate interests and internet commerce that, with a decentralized supply chain, consumer protections against dangerous products are now considerably weakened. Civil litigation in a court of law is the best way consumers can hold the sellers of dangerous products accountable and keep us all safe.