New Ban, New Brawl: MagnetSafety.org Takes on the CPSC
5/8/2023
Denver, CO - The nonprofit organization MagnetSafety.org is gearing up for a fight against the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) over the recent approval of a "magnet safety standard" that bans high-powered hobby magnets for adults. This isn't the first time the CPSC has tried to regulate such magnets, but the fight has evolved since 2014, when Zen Magnets LLC, a company that sold high-powered magnets, won a legal battle against the CPSC over the first hobby magnet ban. Though the first ban specifically targeted Spherical Rare Earth Magnets (SREM) like Zen Magnets, Buckyballs, Neocubes and Neoballs, the new ban targets all high powered magnets to consumers, with exclusions only for “school educators, researchers, professionals, and/or commercial or industrial users.”.
Zen Magnets™ is gone, but its founder, Shihan Qu, is now leading MagnetSafety.org. The organization has partnered with two big hobby industry associations, the Hobby Manufacturers Association and the National Retail Hobby Stores Association, which represent over 400 hobby stores across America, and the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), a nonpartisan nonprofit civil liberties group. With this team on their side, MagnetSafety.org is taking on the CPSC’s magnet ban in court, and advocating for reasonable magnet regulation.
The NCLA case summary can be viewed here: https://nclalegal.org/magnetsafety-org-v-cpsc/
The data shows that the CPSC's continued overreach on a ban for all ages on high-powered hobby magnets isn't safe or reasonable, which is why MagnetSafety.org was created. The organization wants to educate consumers on safe use and find ways to regulate high-powered hobby magnets in a way that optimizes safety without trashing the consent of consumers and manufacturers. MagnetSafety.org's harm reduction will be focused on age restrictions, warnings, labels, child-resistant packaging, and sales methods.
The fight is not simply about finding the middle ground between a complete ban and unrestricted access to magnets. CPSC bans have been counterproductive, as they have not decreased demand but have instead only punished American companies while having little effect on overseas gray market and counterfeit sales of high-powered magnets. The result has been unsafe labeling and packaging, and more magnet ingestion injuries than ever. CPSC’s structure is also unconstitutional because members of the Commission are insulated from Presidential oversight.
MagnetSafety.org is taking action. Beyond the legal challenge of the CPSC's new magnet ban, the organization is working to bolster the already robust voluntary ASTM standards. Additionally, the MagnetSafethy.org will be conducting surveillance on injury data, CPSC enforcement effectiveness, market demand, as well as documenting high-powered magnet utility.
Shihan Qu, founder of Zen Magnets and Director of MagnetSafety.org, said, "We're not just fighting a ban on magnets, we're fighting for the right for hobbyists to enjoy them safely." He added, "even if you don't care much about magnets, maybe you’re interested in supporting truth, harm reduction, and stopping government overreach."
Shihan Qu
Director of MagnetSafety.org
outreach@magnetsafety.org