WASHINGTON – A new consumer complaints database faced its first legal challenge this week when a company tried to block the federal agency that runs it from posting what the firm described as “baseless allegations” against its product.

The database, launched in March by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, is a website where consumers can report and review incidents involving any of the thousands of products that the agency regulates, from candles to refrigerators.

The lawsuit against the CPSC marks the most recent jab at the database by product manufacturers and their allies in Congress since the site was created three years ago as part of a broader product-safety reform measure.

Critics say that any inaccurate information on the site unfairly threatens a company’s profits and misleads consumers. But consumer advocates say the reporting system allows regulators and consumers to more quickly spot and address emerging hazards.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in a federal district court in Maryland, seeks to prevent the CPSC from making public an incident that allegedly harmed a child. In addition, it wants to keep under seal any related documents and the identity of the company, describing it only as “Company Doe,” a maker and seller of consumer products.

The complaint was reported to the commission by another federal agency, not the child’s family, raising some privacy concerns, the company said.

The CPSC said it plans to file a motion to have the case unsealed, a spokesman said.

Meanwhile, consumer advocates dismissed the company’s effort as a keep-consumers-in-the-dark tactic that industry often uses to avoid public scrutiny, though many said they’re unaware of lawsuits filed against similar federal databases.The new database, www.saferproducts.gov, is modeled after a 40-year-old system created by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that focuses on vehicle and equipment defects.

 


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