The Consumer Products Safety Commission has voted to create a new database of consumer complaints that will allow consumers to “see complaints of injuries or potential harm that are filed to the commission by consumers, safety groups, health care professionals and others,”
says the Chicago Tribune. Previously this information only became public after it led to a recall.

When a new complaint is filed, the CPSC will give the manufacturer 10 days to review it before it goes public. This, of course, is not hugely popular with manufacturers.

“Our primary concern is that information might be provided to the public which is not accurate or which might even be malicious,” said Carter Keithley, president of the Toy Industry Association, which represents more than 530 toy manufacturers and importers. “The damage that could be done to a company’s reputation and sales could be irreparable.”

The CPSC is like, yeah, sorry, too bad:

“We’re not going to make everybody happy,” CPSC commissioner Bob Adler, an avid database supporter, acknowledged at a recent agency meeting. “It will be an incredible balancing act.”

New database to help people make ‘safe’ choices when buying strollers, grills and more [Chicago Tribune]

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