The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) launched a new website today.
The site is designed to give consumers “…open access to product safety information that they have never seen before and the information will empower them to make safer choices”, said CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum, in a statement released by the CPSC.
The new site, saferproducts.gov, allows consumers to make reports on products that they feel are unsafe. This has led some to charge that they system may be abused, with competitors or disgruntled consumers making false reports. The CPSC does state on the site that it “does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the contents of the Publicly Available Consumer Product Safety Information Database on SaferProducts.gov, particularly with respect to information submitted by people outside of CPSC.”
The new site offers consumers the ability to report an unsafe product online, or by email, by phone, or through regular mail, and to search for reports and recalls for products by category or name.
It also has a way for businesses to register and respond to reports made by consumers.
As of today, specific product searches produce a list of recalls, but no consumer reports. It states on the site that because the site is new, they expect reports to begin to appear in early April, after they are reviewed and sent to the manufacturer or private labeler for a response.
The creation of the site was mandated by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008.