§ 1101.32 - Reasonable steps to assure information is accurate.

§ 1101.32 Reasonable steps to assure information is accurate.

(a) The Commission considers that the following types of actions are reasonable steps to assure the accuracy of information it proposes to release to the public:

(1) The Commission staff or a qualified person or entity outside the Commission (e.g., someone with requisite training or experience, such as a fire marshal, a fire investigator, an electrical engineer, or an attending physician) conducts an investigation or an inspection which yields or corroborates the product information to be disclosed; or

(2) The Commission staff conducts a technical, scientific, or other evaluation which yields or corroborates the product information to be disclosed or the staff obtains a copy of such an evaluation conducted by a qualified person or entity; or

(3) The Commission staff provides the information to be disclosed to the person who submitted it to the Commission for review and, if necessary, correction, and the submitter confirms the information as accurate to the best of the submitter's knowledge and belief, provided that:

(i) The confirmation is made by the person injured or nearly injured in an incident involving the product; or

(ii) The confirmation is made by a person who, on the basis of his or her own observation or experience, identifies an alleged safety-related defect in or problem with such a product even though no incident or injury associated with the defect or problem may have occurred; or

(iii) The confirmation is made by an eyewitness to an injury or safety-related incident involving such a product; or

(iv) The confirmation is made by an individual with requisite training or experience who has investigated and/or determined the cause of deaths, injuries or safety-related incidents involving such a product. Such persons would include, for example, a fire marshal, a fire investigator, an electrical engineer, an ambulance attendant, or an attending physician; or

(v) The confirmation is made by a parent or guardian of a child involved in an incident involving such a product, or by a person to whom a child is entrusted on a temporary basis.

(b) The steps set forth below are the steps the Commission will take to analyze the accuracy of information which it proposes to release to the public.

(1) The Commission will review each proposed disclosure of information which is susceptible of factual verification to assure that reasonable steps have been taken to assure accuracy in accordance with § 1101.32(a).

(2) As described in subpart C, the Commission will provide a manufacturer or private labeler with a summary or text of the information the Commission proposes to disclose and will invite comment with respect to that information.

(3) If the Commission receives no comments or only general, undocumented comments claiming inaccuracy, the Commission will review the information in accordance with § 1101.32(a) and release it, generally without further investigating its accuracy if there is nothing on the face of the information that calls its accuracy into question.

(4) If a firm comments on the accuracy of the information the Commission proposes to disclose, the Commission will review the information in light of the comments. The degree of review by the Commission and the weight accorded a firm's comments will be directly related to the specificity and completeness of the firm's comments on accuracy and the accompanying documentation. Documented comments will be given more weight than undocumented comments. Specific comments will be given more weight than general comments. Further steps may be taken to determine the accuracy of the information if the Commission determines such action appropriate.