San Diego County has launched a new Consumer Fairness and Public Protection unit designed to pursue consumer complaints and unfair business practices across the region, according to East County Magazine.

The unit will be led by Lemon Grove Mayor Alysson Snow, who has more than 20 years of consumer-protection experience and previously directed the Housing Rights Legal Clinic at the University of San Diego School of Law. East County Magazine reported that the unit is expected to focus on issues such as scams, hidden fees, unsafe products, unfair insurance denials, pollution and housing-related complaints.

The new county team will use California's Unfair Competition Law, a legal authority East County Magazine reported had previously been used locally by the San Diego County District Attorney and the California Attorney General. Snow told the publication that early priorities include predatory social media platforms, ghost gun manufacturers and polluters connected to the Tijuana River sewage crisis.

For Santee residents, the practical takeaway is that some consumer issues may now have a county-level enforcement path, especially when a problem affects people or businesses across multiple communities. Local renters, homeowners and small businesses dealing with suspected fraud, unfair fees or repeat bad actors may see the county develop a more formal complaint and enforcement process as the unit gets underway.

East County Magazine reported that Snow remains Lemon Grove mayor while taking on the county role and said she will separate the two positions when potential conflicts arise.