Residential and commercial safe manufacturer Liberty Safe announced a new policy allowing customers to request their product’s access codes to be expunged from company records following their decision to provide assistance to the FBI during their investigation of Jan. 6, 2021 protestor Nathan Hughes.
The policy is effective immediately.
Liberty Safe’s Thursday statement reiterated the company’s dedication to “safeguarding the rights and privacy” of customers.
“It is a promise that remains deeply personal to our employees and leadership,” the statement reads. “Our company, one of America’s oldest and largest safe manufacturers, was founded on the belief that Americans should have the fundamental right to protect and safeguard their valuables and property.”
The statement said Liberty Safe has “long adhered to industry standards” regarding the company maintaining records of factory-set combinations for their products.
“This practice helps customers regain access to their safe for a wide range of reasons, including loss of the original combination, service requests, and warranty issues,” the company wrote. “Liberty Safe processes over 4,000 requests of this type annually and provides combinations to safe owners only once they provide clear documentation of their identity and their ownership of the safe.”
— Liberty Safe (@libertysafeinc) September 7, 2023
Liberty Safe noted the company has heard consumer concerns regarding the company providing assistance to the FBI in accessing Hughes’ safe.
“Today, we are announcing a change that empowers our customers with greater control over their information,” the company wrote, providing a link where customers can request Liberty Safe to expunge records of their product’s access code. “In the coming weeks, we will be releasing a feature that gives every new customer this option when registering their safe.”
The company noted the new policy allows customers to control how their product’s information is stored and protected.
“We understand that many of our customers are willing to assume the responsibility of safeguarding their own combination,” the statement continued. “While those who opt out of our data storage process will have limited recourse in case of a lost combination, we respect their choice and are here to support them in the way that’s best for them.”
Liberty Safe also announced they had revised company policies regarding cooperation with law enforcement.
“Going forward we will require a subpoena that legally compels Liberty Safe to supply access codes but can only do so if these codes still exist in our system,” the statement concludes. “Our mission is to protect what matters most to our customers, whether that be valuables or privacy.”
Timcast owner and CEO Tim Pool expressed satisfaction with the company’s policy change.
“Bang A+ Thank you Liberty Safe.”
Bang
A+
Thank you @libertysafeinc https://t.co/gGZjhVXDwV
— Tim Pool (@Timcast) September 7, 2023
Others expressed continued concern over the company’s business practices.
“Why in God’s name would you provide the code without a subpoena? Where is the apology?” wrote podcast host Clint Russel.
“You understand this isn’t adequate,” he continued, suggesting Liberty Safe’s decision to assist the FBI was worse than adult beverage brand Bud Light’s decision to sponsor transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney. “You guys need to make this right in whatever way you can and this ain’t it.”
On Wednesday, fellow firearm security and storage company SecureIt released a statement addressing Liberty Safe.
“It is Securelt’s belief and protocol, that the protection of personal property and 2nd Amendment rights of American citizens are paramount,” the company continued. “Our full line of fast access modular safes are not built with any override system, giving our customers full control.”
The company’s statement concluded by stressing the freedom and liberty to possess firearms was the right of every American citizen.
“Securelt will always put those same rights of our current and future customers first.”
