But they may also host unwanted or even malicious software, firmware, or hardware—and the buyer may not know the difference, or even know what to look for.
Alternatively, the clones are often the ones which will omit the user-hostile DRM and such. Thus you get HDMI splitters which don't actually re-encrypt HDCP, DVD players which don't implement region restrictions or the "unskippable" bits (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_operation_prohibition ) , Androids with unlocked bootloaders by default, etc.
Of course, to an organisation like the IEEE, who have always appeared to be pro-DRM, pro-IP, pro-copyright, that would probably be considered "malicious"...
The whole safety/security argument, while true, I think is somewhat overblown and these days increasingly used to justify an authoritarian agenda.