[Federal Register: September 12, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 176)]
[Notices]
[Page 53686-53688]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12se06-63]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Notice of Public Information Collection(s) Being Reviewed by the
Federal Communications Commission, Comments Requested
September 7, 2006.
SUMMARY: The Federal Communications Commission, as part of its
continuing effort to reduce paperwork burden, invites the general
public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment
on the following information collection(s), as required by the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, Public Law No. 104-13. An agency
may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it
displays a currently valid control number. No person shall be subject
to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information
subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act that does not display a valid
control number. Comments are requested concerning (a) Whether the
proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the
information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the
Commission's burden estimate; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility,
and clarity of the information collected; and (d) ways to minimize the
burden of the collection of information on the respondents, including
the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
DATES: Written Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) comments should be
submitted on or before November 13, 2006. If you anticipate that you
will be submitting comments, but find it difficult to do so within the
period of time allowed by this notice, you should advise the contact
listed below as soon as possible.
ADDRESSES: You may submit your Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) comments
by e-mail or U.S. postal mail. To submit you comments by e-mail send
them to: PRA@fcc.gov. To submit your comments by U.S. mail, mark it to
the attention of Leslie F. Smith, Federal Communications Commission,
445 12th Street, SW., Room 1-C216, Washington, DC 20554.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information about the
information collection(s) send an e-mail to PRA@fcc.gov or contact
Leslie F. Smith at 202-418-0217.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
OMB Control Number: 3060-0874
Title: Consumer Complaint Form and Obscene, Profane, and Indecent
Complaint Form.
Form Number(s): FCC Form 475 and FCC Form 475-B.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Respondents: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit entities; Not-for-profit institutions; Federal Government;
State, local or tribal government.
Number of Respondents: 1,330,104 (FCC Form 475: 58,772; FCC Form
475-B: 1,271,332).
Estimated Time per Response: 30 minutes per form.
Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement.
Total Annual Burden: 665,052 (FCC Form 475: 29,386 hours; FCC Form
475-B: 635,666 hours).
Total Annual Cost: None.
Privacy Impact Assessment: Yes.
Needs and Use: Consumers use FCC Form 475, Consumer Complaint Form,
to delineate precisely the issue(s) concerning the policies and
practices of common carriers that they are disputing. FCC Form 475 asks
the complainants to provide contact information, including their
address, telephone number, and e-mail address, and to briefly describe
the complaint, including the common carrier against whom the complaint
is lodged, the consumer's account number(s), the date(s) on which the
incident(s) occurred, and the type of resolution the consumer is
seeking. The Commission uses the information to resolve the consumer's
informal complaint(s).
The information on FCC Form 475 may also be used to assess the
practices of common carriers as part of any investigative work
performed by Federal
[[Page 53687]]
and State law enforcement agencies to monitor common carrier practices
and to promote compliance with Federal and State requirements. The
information may ultimately become the foundation for FCC enforcement
actions and/or rulemaking proceedings, as appropriate. The Commission
now intends to create a new, separate FCC form, described below, that
will be used to collect complaint data regarding junk faxes,
unsolicited e-mail messages, and telemarketing calls. Thus, the
existing Form 475 will be amended slightly to reflect the fact that it
will no longer be used for these types of complaints.
FCC Form 475-B, Obscene, Profane, and Indecent Complaint Form, is
used by consumers to lay out precisely their complaint(s) and issue(s)
concerning the practices of the telecommunications entities, which
consumers believe may have aired obscene, profane, and/or indecent
programming. FCC Form 475-B will remain unchanged.
OMB Control Number: 3060-1088
Title: Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer
Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991, Report and Order and Third Order on
Reconsideration, CG Docket No. 05-338, FCC 06-42.
Form Number: FCC Form 1088.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Respondents: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit entities; Not-for-profit institutions.
Number of Respondents: 5,000,000 (4 million facsimile advertisement
senders + 1 million complainants, 100,000 of which will file complaints
using proposed new form).
Estimated Time per Response: 15 minutes.
Frequency of Response: Annually, monthly, and on occasion reporting
requirements; Recordkeeping; Third party disclosure.
Total Annual Burden: 13,130,000 hours (13,080,000 hours for fax
advertisement senders + 50,000 hours for complainants using proposed
new form).
Total Annual Cost: $60,000,000.
Privacy Impact Assessment: Yes.
Needs and Uses: On April 5, 2006, the Commission adopted a Report
and Order and Third Order on Reconsideration, In the Matter of Rules
and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of
1991; Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005, CG Docket Nos. 02-278 and 05-
338, FCC 06-42, which modified the Commission's facsimile advertising
rules to implement the Junk Fax Prevention Act. The Report and Order
and Third Order on Reconsideration contains information collection
requirements: (1) Opt-out Notice and Do-Not-Fax Requests
Recordkeeping--senders of unsolicited facsimile advertisements to
include a notice on the first page that informs the recipient of the
ability and means to request that they not receive future unsolicited
facsimile advertisements from the sender; (2) Established Business
Relationship Recordkeeping--the Junk Fax Prevention Act provides that
the sender, e.g., a person, business, or a nonprofit/institution, is
prohibited from faxing an unsolicited advertisement to a facsimile
machine unless the sender has an ``established business relationship''
(EBR) with the recipient; (3) Facsimile Number Recordkeeping in which
the Junk Fax Prevention Act provides that an EBR alone does not entitle
a sender to fax an advertisement to an individual or business. The fax
number must also be provided voluntarily by the recipient; and (4)
Express Invitation or Permission Recordkeeping where, in the absence of
an EBR, the sender must obtain the prior express invitation or
permission from the consumer before sending the facsimile
advertisement. Section 227 of the Communications Act of 1934, as
amended, and the FCC's parallel rules restrict various telemarketing
and advertising activities. The new Junk Fax/Telemarketing Form, FCC
Form 1088, is designed specifically for complaints that involve: (1)
Junk faxes, (2) telemarketing (including do-not-call violations), and
(3) other related issues such as prerecorded messages, automatic
telephone dialing systems, and unsolicited commercial e-mail messages
to wireless telecommunications devices (cell phones, pagers). Upon the
adoption of the TCPA rules, approximately 80,000 respondents utilized
the Consumer Complaint Form 475 to file general complaints resulting in
a total hourly annual burden of 40,000 hours. Based on these figures,
the Commission estimates that 100,000 respondents would use the
proposed new form, requiring 50,000 hours annually.
FCC Form 1088 will allow the Commission to collect detailed
information from consumers concerning possible violations of the
Communications Act and the FCC's fax and telemarketing rules, which
will enable the Commission to investigate rule violations more
efficiently and to initiate enforcement actions against violators, as
appropriate. By collecting their complaints and related information in
a single, comprehensive template, the form will provide a standardized
way for consumers to file complaints, reducing or eliminating the need
for further documentation or questions from FCC investigators to
determine whether violations have occurred. This ensures that consumers
can present their complaints in a way that maximizes the FCC's ability
to take enforcement actions against violators, protecting complainants
and other consumers from unlawful telemarketing and faxing which is
intrusive, uninvited, and possibly costly. Furthermore, the form's
format avoids the need for complainants to compose narratives that
describe unwanted telemarketing or faxing, and instead permits
complainants to answer questions, principally by simply selecting
options presented on the form, which should reduce the time to file a
complaint. The form will allow the Commission to gather and to review
this information more efficiently. The information the form collects
may ultimately become the foundation for enforcement actions and/or
rulemaking proceedings, as appropriate.
FCC Form 1088 asks the complainant's contact information, including
name, address, telephone number and e-mail address; then presents a
``gateway'' question to determine the general topic of the complaint:
(1) A fax; or (2) a call or message to a residential telephone,
business telephone, emergency telephone or patient telephone, wireless
telecommunications device, or any service for which the called party is
charged. The form asks additional questions geared to the specific type
of incident reported. The form poses certain mandatory threshold
questions that must be answered for the Commission to determine whether
a violation has occurred. It also presents optional questions for
complainants who wish to provide the Commission with more detailed
information that a complainant believes may assist the Commission in
investigating the complaint. In short, complainants will only encounter
those questions directly applicable to their self-selected issues, and
only be required to answer a limited number of questions (typically,
not more than 10) necessary to establish whether a violation has, in
fact, occurred. No complainant will have to answer all questions.
Finally, a complainant may attach documentation attesting to the
accuracy of the information provided to the Commission. The Commission
needs this documentation for any possible enforcement actions. The
Commission believes the new form to be a logical
[[Page 53688]]
extension of its Junk Fax and Telemarketing rulemaking efforts.
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-15194 Filed 9-11-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P