Hugh Hewitt at Townhall.com reported yesterday on a Congressionally mandated bulletin board that will be set up by the Consumer Products Safety Commission next spring to track safety issues and recalls relating to American products. It sounds like a really good idea, until you look at it a little more closely. The problem is that there is no filter on the bulletin board. A disgruntled employee, an angry ex-spouse, a competitive company (all posts are anonymous) can post something about a problem, a predicted problem, or an imaginary problem. There is no way a reader of the bulletin board can evaluate a post, because they have no way of knowing who posted it. The opportunity for abuse is immense.
The article points out:
"A few lawyers specializing in CPSC law have begun to warn their clients of the perils ahead, especially when the plaintiffs' bar begins to both hunt for clients among the postings and to use the "reports" found there in courtrooms far and wide as evidence of a pattern or practice of corporate indifference to injury."
Hugh Hewitt is a practicing lawyer who is familiar with how our legal system works (both the good and the bad). He points out the dangers to American companies if this bulletin board goes up in its present form. The amount of money an American company will have to spend tracking and responding to charges posted on this bulletin board (true or false) will significantly increase their expenses--not to mention to possible damage that could be done by someone who slanders a company or product for their own reasons. This is another attack on American business.
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