(a) General. The Commission does not routinely make reports available to the public until the staff has made a preliminary hazard determination. Copies of reports will not be available to the public in the Commission's public reading room, and information contained in reports will not ordinarily be disclosed to the public in the absence of a formal request.

(b) Freedom of Information Act. Any person who submits information to the Commission who believes that any portion of the information is entitled to exemption from public disclosure under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, as amended (15 U.S.C. 552(b)), of the CPSA, as amended, or of another Federal statute must accompany the submission with a written request that the information be considered exempt from disclosure or indicate that a written request will be submitted within 10 working days of the submission. The request shall (1) identify the portions of the information for which exemption is claimed, which may include the identity of the reporting firm and the fact that it is making a report, and (2) state the facts and reasons which support the claimed exemption. After the staff has made its preliminary hazard determination, and regardless of whether or not the staff preliminarily determines that a product presents a substantial product hazard, the Commission will no longer honor requests for exempt status for the identity of the reporting firm, the identity of the consumer product, and the nature of the reported alleged defect or noncompliance. This information, together with the staff's preliminary hazard determination, will be made available to the public in the Commission's public reading room. Information for which exempt status is claimed (such as alleged trade secrets, confidential commercial or financial information, or information the disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy) shall not be released to the public except in accordance with the applicable statute or the Commission's Freedom of Information Act regulations (16 CFR part 1015).

(c) Section 6(b) of the CPSA. The Commission believes that the first two sentences in section 6(b)(1) of the CPSA (15 U.S.C. 2055(b)(1)) apply to affirmative dissemination of information by the Commission (such as press releases or fact sheets distributed to the public) from which the public may ascertain readily the identity of the product's manufacturer and/or private labeler. Manufacturers and private labelers will ordinarily be given 30 days' notice before the Commission makes such affirmative disseminations. However, this 30-day notice will not apply if the Commission finds that a lesser notice period is required in the interest of public health and safety.