"Today's vote to file an administrative complaint against Amazon was a huge step forward for this small agency," says Acting Chairman Robert Adler. "But it's a huge step across a vast desert — we must grapple with how to deal with these massive third-party platforms more efficiently, and how best to protect the American consumers who rely on them."

Third-party sellers account for more than half the physical goods sold on Amazon. The company collected $80 billion in commissions and other payments by third-party sellers last year.

The complaint concedes that Amazon did stop selling the products when notified by CPSC staff, and that it notified buyers of the products of the hazard and offered them cash refunds. But the complaint says "Amazon's unilateral actions are insufficient to remediate the hazards posed by the ... products."

The CPSC wants to force Amazon to stop selling the products in question, to work with CPSC staff on a recall of the products and to directly notify consumers who purchased them about the recall and offer them a full refund.

The commission voted 3-1 in favor of the action against Amazon.

Amazon said the company takes prompt action when it is made aware of safety problems with products sold on the site, either by Amazon or third-party sellers. It said in the instances it did not recall products it was because "CPSC did not provide Amazon with enough information for us to take action and despite our requests. It said it offered CPSC to expand its capabilities to handle recalls for products.

"We are unclear as to why the CPSC has rejected that offer or why they have filed a complaint seeking to force us to take actions almost entirely duplicative of those we've already taken," said the company in a statement.

An investigation by CNN last year found dozens of Amazon's own products have been reported as dangerous — melting, exploding or even bursting into flames. Amazon responded to the investigation by saying that "safety is a top priority" and that its products meet all applicable safety standards.

In the wake of CNN's reporting the CPSC launched investigations into a number of the AmazonBasics products highlighted by CNN.

In reaction to the CPSC lawsuit, Senator Richard Blumenthal cited CNN's reporting in a press release, saying that Amazon "must take responsibility for stemming the tide of hazardous products sold through its platform including its own AmazonBasics car chargers, surge protectors, and microwaves that have caught on fire, exploded, and physically harmed consumers—some of which the company continues to sell to unknowing Americans."