https://www.ul.com/news/ul-solutions-named-lead-administrato...
> UL Solutions will also work with the FCC and program stakeholders to develop a national registry of certified products that consumers can access via QR code on the label. The registry will have more detailed information about each product. Additionally, UL Solutions will serve as liaison between the FCC and other CLAs, as well as other key stakeholders. [emphasis added]
and here:
https://www.fcc.gov/CyberTrustMark
> The logo will be accompanied by a QR code that consumers can scan, linking to a registry of information with easy-to-understand details about the security of the product, such as the support period for the product and whether software patches and security updates are automatic.
This doesn't block full-blown counterfeit products (recreating certified devices including the label), but does address non-compliant devices trying to pose as compliant.
I've seen Energy Star logos for 30 years and never knew there was a public database, never thought to verify, and I don't think anyone else has either. The only thing Energy Star has been useful for is extracting rebates from utility companies and buying shitty dishwashers which were certain to be worse than what they were replacing.
Verification is useless if no one knows about it, or if the data isn't actionable. I have verified UL mark numbers for questionable products, but they often resolve to some Chinese ODM you've never heard of like 'Xionshang Industrial Electric Company' whose name certainly doesn't match the product label. Do you know the components haven't been swapped out since certification was achieved? Was the product actually sourced from there or counterfeit? You have no way to verify any of that.
UL issues holographic stickers but I've seen those like 10% of the time and probably just as easily faked.
And I'm not saying this will be that useful, just that it's not going to be a sticker and nothing else. That would be truly useless and pretty much just make money for sticker makers.
So, the product search works like a shopping cart site, and has no historical products, only new ones, and helpfully lists the prices.
Who is this meant to benefit?
However, I was able to at least verify the label on my dishwasher by doing a google search for `site:energystar.gov <model number>` and seeing that that model comes up in the search results.
After some more digging around I think the expectation is that the trust would stem from an assumed effectiveness of the FTC to squash materially misleading advertising. Though even that needs someone to first notice a discrepancy and bother to look into it.
Kinda like how we trust that the nutrition information box on food is accurate because anyone selling food that falsifies that is going to have a bad time when the FDA comes knocking.
Is it possible to find sketchy products? Yeah, but there's often signs they're sketchy. If it's a concern for you, stick to large, established brands from large, established retailers. They're getting scrutinized up down and sideways for this kind of stuff.
It looks like part of the label [1] will include a QR or link to a public registry, so in theory you can easily confirm the device has actually been certified.
[1] https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-23-65A1.pdf point 42
Not that it matters, posters on this very site who claim to care will continue buying stuff off AliExpress, proud they got it for pennies on the dollar.
Look ma, a mini PC for $22! And they didn't even charge for the preinstalled malware!
Has anyone ever considered this junk is sold at a loss as a price of doing business, to expand a PRC-controlled botnet?
I stored their number in my notebook and going to my shopping, calling them from bus stop, and they answered me some nonsense.
I made my shopping, and some walk, then opened platform and these shops already disappear. Less than hour.
In other case I managed to make order and paid from card, and also shop disappeared. - In a week I received SMS from bank "your payment returned to your account".
This is federal offense, like document falsification.
So if somebody will be caught on doing it - could go to jail.
How would they know that an item is fraudulently marked if they never look?
1. Organizations listed in subject (NIST, FCC, deputies from tech companies) constantly create or even invent methods to check products quality and to enforce penalties for offenders, and propose regulations to approve by parliament.
2. Parliament make juridical documents and approve budgets for 1 (and 3,4 when need).
3. Customs limit penetration of abroad subjects to internal market.
4. Police, courts, deal with internal offenders, or with abroad offenders managed to infiltrate through customs to internal market.
In real life, local shop become responsible when sell products from abroad, and regulations limited possibilities to create local shops for foreigners.
Unfortunately, life is constantly changed, technologies constantly grow, so old regulations eventually become obsolete, so all these things work in endless loop.
Typical doesn't fucking matter here. This is a fucking US fucking policy, and the only fucking place it fucking matters to a fucking consumer in the fucking US.
For fuck's sake! Fuck.