EU Toy Safety Regulation Alignment with GPSR: Online Compliance Obligations

The European Union has significantly revised its product safety framework for toys, replacing Directive 2009/48/EC with the Toy Safety Regulation (EU) 2025/2509).

This reform is tightly aligned with the General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988 (GPSR), which has been fully applicable since Dec. 13, 2024, and establishes horizontal safety rules for consumer products in the EU, including those sold online.

The combined effect of these two regulations is a substantially reinforced system of online product safety governance, reflecting the structural shift toward e‑commerce and the increasing role of digital marketplaces in the supply chain.

Toys remain one of the most frequently notified product categories in Safety Gate, the EU rapid alert system for dangerous non-food products — with chemical and mechanical hazards accounting for a significant share of alerts. The growing prevalence of distance sales and third‑country sellers has exposed structural weaknesses in the enforcement of the former Toy Safety Directive, particularly regarding traceability and identification of the responsible economic operator.

The GPSR introduces a paradigm shift by establishing that online and offline sales channels are subject to equivalent safety and information requirements, while explicitly addressing risks arising from digitalization and cross‑border e‑commerce.

The EU Toy Safety Regulation is sector‑specific, and the GPSR retains a complementary, horizontal role for all safety aspects not exhaustively covered by the toy legislation.

In practice, this means that several GPSR chapters fully apply to toys:

• Rules on distance selling offers and mandatory pre‑contractual information
• Incident and accident reporting obligations
• Traceability and corrective actions
• Direct obligations imposed on online marketplace providers

One of the most significant developments introduced by the GPSR and explicitly reinforced by the Toy Safety Regulation is the recognition of online marketplaces as independent regulatory addressees.

Marketplace providers are now required to:

• Design their online interfaces so that traders can display all product safety and compliance information required under EU law
• Register and cooperate with the Safety Gate system
• Establish internal product safety procedures and dedicated contact points for authorities and consumers
• Act expeditiously to remove, disable or warn against unsafe toy listings identified by market surveillance authorities

Article 19 of the GPSR introduces binding rules for distance sales offers, requiring that consumers receive the same safety information online as they would in a physical retail environment. For toys, this obligation is reinforced by the new regulation, which explicitly targets online visibility of:

• The responsible economic operator established in the EU
• Safety warnings and instructions in easily understandable language
• Conformity information prior to purchase
• The Digital Product Passport (DPP), which must be accessible before the conclusion of the purchase, thereby strengthening transparency and enabling proactive consumer and authority checks across digital channels

Economic operators must implement robust digital compliance infrastructures, including data governance for DPPs, real‑time product monitoring and structured cooperation with authorities. This framework creates a more predictable and harmonized enforcement environment across member states.

Note: International and local regulations are subject to change, and each customer’s situation may vary. This information is intended as a general overview and should not be relied upon as specific advice.