eep Defect Data Public Topic: Safety The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is again bending to the will of the auto industry as the agency is proposing to restrict access to information about consumer complaints, warranty claims and service reports. Accident
NHTSA was ordered by Congress to make information about problems with vehicles public after it withheld information about the blowout problems of using Firestone tires on Ford vehicles. NHTSA is afraid that releasing the information could cause competitive harm in the marketplace, but Public Citizen is challenging the rule in court.
Wow, exposing product defects might discourage people from buying a product, whoda thunk it! Companies that hide the truth from the consumers is why we have regulatory agencies isn't it?
NHTSA already lost this battle in court once, according to the Detroit News, but that isn't stopping them from proposing the same rule change.
This case shows that the Bush Administration seems to have two positions on respecting privacy -- one when it comes to individuals, and another when it comes to corporations. Posted by John Gartner 11:18 AM | Post