A new consumer product safety information database will allow people to share and access safety information about the products they own and consider buying, a coalition of consumer and safety groups said today in a statement.
The database is up and running today online at www.SaferProducts.gov.
Need for database
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has collected consumer complaints for years. However, because the agency has been required to obtain the approval of companies before it could share information about a specific product, the information has been kept from consumers for months, or even years.
The new consumer complaint database will help shed light on the safety of products currently in the marketplace.
Support from consumer groups
“Consumers will no longer be left in the dark about product safety – they will now have access to lifesaving information,” Rachel Weintraub, director of product safety at Consumer Federation of America, said. “The commission will also be able to more nimbly identify and act upon safety hazards. The database carefully balances the need to bring safety complaints to light, while also allowing manufacturers to review submissions and provide comments.”
The group Kids In Danger thinks the database will help save children’s lives. “This crucial tool will help parents keep their families safe,” said Nancy Cowles, executive director of the organization that works to protect children from unsafe products. “The database will fling open the windows at CPSC and allow consumers to learn of dangerous products before it is too late. The decades of hiding injuries and deaths for months, or even years, will end. Parents trust a lot of products with their children’s lives. The database puts information in the hands of those who need it most.”
In addition to the federation and Kids In Danger, Public Citizen, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group hail the launch of the database as a step forward in educating consumers about product safety hazards and improving the commission’s ability to act on problems in the marketplace.
Complaints from manufacturers and Congress
The database is required under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act approved in 2008. In debates over the federal budget in Congress, some lawmakers have pushed to wipe out funding for the database. Manufacturers have also been pushing to undermine the database.
Manufacturers are complaining that erroneous information from competitors and false claims from consumers will be entered in the database. However, the commission says the database contains protections to ensure that inaccurate information doesn’t get published.
How the database operates
Anonymous complaints won’t be permitted, and only safety-related information will be posted, according to the commission. Complaints won’t be considered for publication if it isn’t complete.
Businesses also get to see reports of harm before they’re posted and have the opportunity to correct inaccurate information and to provide their own comments. The commission thinks these measures provide a balance between transparency for consumers and protections for manufacturers.
