[Federal Register: June 27, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 125)]
[Notices]
[Page 36515-36517]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27jn08-51]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request; Extension
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (``Commission'' or ``FTC'').
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The information collection requirements described below will
be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') for
review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA''). The FTC
is seeking public comments on its proposal to extend through July 31,
2011, the current PRA clearance for information collection requirements
contained in the Commission's Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Privacy Rule
(``GLB Privacy Rule'' or ``Rule''). The current clearance expires on
July 31, 2008.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before July 28, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments.
Comments should refer to ``Paperwork Comment: FTC File No. P085405'' to
facilitate the organization of comments. A comment filed in paper form
should include this reference both in the text and on the envelope and
should be mailed or delivered to the following address: Federal Trade
Commission, Room H-135 (Annex J), 600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20580. The Commission is requesting that any comment
filed in paper form be sent by courier or overnight service, if
possible because U.S. postal mail in the Washington area and at the FTC
is subject to delay due to heightened security precautions. Moreover,
because paper mail in the Washington area and at the FTC is subject to
delay, please consider submitting your comments in electronic form, as
prescribed below. If, however, the comment contains any material for
which confidential treatment is requested, it must be filed in paper
form, and the first page of the document must be clearly labeled
``Confidential.''\1\
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\1\ Commission Rule 4.2(d), 16 CFR 4.2(d). The comment must be
accompanied by an explicit request for confidential treatment,
including the factual and legal basis for the request, and must
identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from
the public record. The request will be granted or denied by the
Commission's General Counsel, consistent with applicable law and the
public interest. See Commission Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
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Comments filed in electronic form should be submitted by following
the instructions on the web-based form at (https://
secure.commentworks.com/ftc-glbprivacyrulepra) and following the
instructions on the web-based form. To ensure that the Commission
considers an electronic comment, you must file it on the web-based form
at the (https://secure.commentworks.com/ftc-glbprivacyrulepra) weblink.
If this notice appears at www.regulations.gov, you may also file an
electronic comment through that website. The Commission will consider
all comments that www.regulations.gov forwards to it.
All comments should additionally be submitted to: Office of
Management and Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for the Federal Trade
Commission. Comments should be submitted via facsimile to (202) 395-
6974 because U.S. Postal Mail is subject to lengthy delays due to
heightened security precautions.
The FTC Act and other laws the Commission administers permit the
collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding as
appropriate. All timely and responsive public comments will be
considered by the Commission and will be available to the public on the
FTC website, to the extent practicable, at www.ftc.gov. As a matter of
discretion, the FTC makes every effort to remove home contact
information for individuals from the public comments it receives before
placing those comments on the FTC website. More information, including
routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, may be found in the FTC's
privacy policy at (http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.shtm).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kellie Cosgrove Riley, Senior
Attorney, Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, Bureau of
Consumer Protection, (202) 326-2252, Federal Trade Commission, 600
Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 2, 2008, the FTC sought comment on
the information collection requirements associated with the GLB Privacy
Rule, 16 CFR Part 313 (OMB Control Number 3084-0121). See 73 FR 17980.
No comments were received. Pursuant to the OMB regulations, 5 CFR Part
1320, that implement the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3521, the FTC is providing
this second opportunity for public comment while seeking OMB approval
to extend the existing PRA clearance for the Rule. All comments should
be filed as prescribed in the ADDRESSES section above, and must be
received on or before July 28, 2008.
The GLB Privacy Rule is designed to ensure that customers and
consumers, subject to certain exceptions, will have access to the
privacy policies of the financial institutions with which they conduct
business. As mandated by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, 15 U.S.C. 6801-
6809, the Rule requires financial institutions to disclose to
consumers: (1) initial notice of the financial institution's privacy
policy when establishing a customer relationship with a consumer and/or
before sharing a consumer's non-public personal information with
certain nonaffiliated third parties; (2) notice of the consumer's right
to opt out of information sharing with such parties; (3) annual notice
of the institution's privacy policy to any continuing customer; and (4)
notice of changes in the institution's practices on information
sharing. These requirements are subject to the PRA. The Rule does not
require recordkeeping.
Estimated annual hours burden: As noted in the original burden
estimate for the GLB Privacy Rule, determining the paperwork burden of
the Rule's disclosure requirements is very difficult because of the
highly diverse group of
[[Page 36516]]
affected entities, consisting of financial institutions not regulated
by a federal financial regulatory agency. See 15 U.S.C. 6805
(committing to the Commission's jurisdiction entities that are not
specifically subject to another agency's jurisdiction).
The burden estimates represent the FTC staff's best assessment,
based on its knowledge and expertise relating to the financial
institutions subject to the Commission's jurisdiction under this law.
To derive these estimates, staff considered the wide variations in
covered entities. In some instances, covered entities may make the
required disclosures in the ordinary course of business, apart from the
GLB Privacy Rule. In addition, some entities may use highly automated
means to provide the required disclosures, while others may rely on
methods requiring more manual effort. The burden estimates shown below
include the time that may be necessary to train staff to comply with
the regulations. These figures are averages based on staff's best
estimate of the burden incurred over the broad spectrum of covered
entities.
Staff retains its prior estimate of the number of entities each
year that will address the GLB Privacy Rule for the first time (5,000)
and its estimate of established entities already familiar with the Rule
(100,000). While the number of established entities familiar with the
Rule would theoretically increase each year with the addition of new
entrants, staff retains its previous estimate of established entities
given that a number of the established entities will close in any given
year, and also given the difficulty of establishing a more precise
estimate. Staff's burden estimates for new entrants and established
entities are detailed in the charts below.
Start-up hours and labor costs for new entrants:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Approx. Approx.
Hourly wage Hours per Approx. Total Total
Event and labor Respondent Number of Annual Labor
category* Respondents Hrs. Costs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reviewin $31.66 20 5,000 100,000 $3,166,00
g managerial/ 0
interna profession
l al
policie
s and
develop
ing
GLBA-
impleme
nting
instruc
tions**
---------
Creating $14.71 5 5,000 25,000 $367,750
disclos clerical
ure
documen
t or
electro
nic
disclos
ure
(includ
ing
initial
,
annual,
and opt
out
disclos
ures)
---------
$32.82 10 ............. 50,000 $1,641,00
profession 0
al/
technical
---------
Dissemin $14.71 15 5,000 75,000 $1,103,25
ating clerical 0
initial
disclos
ure
(includ
ing opt
out
notices
)
---------
$32.82 10 ............. 50,000 $1,641,00
profession 0
al/
technical
---------
Total ........... ............ ............. 300,000 $7,919,00
0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Staff calculated labor costs by applying appropriate hourly cost
figures to burden hours. The hourly rates used were based on mean
wages for managerial/professional time (e.g., compliance evaluation
and/or planning), professional/technical time (e.g., designing and
producing notices, reviewing and updating information systems), and
clerical time (e.g., reproduction tasks, filing, and, where applicable
to the given event, typing or mailing). See BLS National Compensation
Survey, June 2006, Table 1, available at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/sp/
ncbl0910.pdf (Management, professional, and related; office and
administrative support) and BLS Occupational Employment and Wages
2006,Table 2, available at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/
ocwage.pdf (professional, scientific, and technical services -
business and financial operations). Labor cost totals reflect solely
that of the commercial entities affected. Staff assumes that the time
required of consumers to respond affirmatively to respondents' opt-out
programs (be it manually or electronically) would be minimal.
** Reviewing instructions includes all efforts performed by or for the
respondent to: determine whether and to what extent the respondent is
covered by an agency collection of information, understand the nature
of the request, and determine the appropriate response (including the
creation and dissemination of document and/or electronic disclosures).
Burden hours and costs for established entities:
Burden for established entities already familiar with the Rule
predictably would be less than for start-up entities because start-up
costs, such as crafting a privacy policy, are generally one-time costs
and have already been incurred. Staff's best estimate of the average
burden for these entities is as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Approx. Approx.
Hourly wage Hours per Approx. Number Total Total
Event and labor Respondent of Annual Labor
category* Respondents** Hours Costs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reviewi $31.66 4 70,000 280,000 $8,864,8
ng managerial/ 00
GLBA- profession
implem al
enting
polici
es and
practi
ces
--------
[[Page 36517]]
Dissemi $14.71 15 70,000 1,050,000 $15,445,
nating clerical 500
annual
disclo
sure
--------
$32.82 5 ............... 350,000 $11,487,
profession 000
al/
technical
--------
Changes $14.71 15 1,000 15,000 $220,650
to clerical
privac
y
polici
es and
relate
d
disclo
sures
--------
$32.82 5 ............... 5,000 $164,100
profession
al/
technical
--------
Total ........... ............ ............... 1,700,000 $36,182,
050
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Staff calculated labor costs by applying appropriate hourly cost
figures to burden hours; labor cost totals reflect solely that of the
commercial entities affected. The hourly rates used were based on mean
wages for managerial/professional time (e.g., compliance evaluation
and/or planning), professional/technical time (e.g., designing and
producing notices, reviewing and updating information systems), and
clerical time (e.g., reproduction tasks, filing, and, where applicable
to the given event, typing or mailing). See BLS National Compensation
Survey, June 2006, Table 1, available at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/sp/
ncbl0910.pdf (Management, professional, and related; office and
administrative support) and BLS Occupational Employment and Wages
2006,Table 2, available at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/
ocwage.pdf (professional, scientific, and technical services -
business and financial operations). Consumers have a continuing right
to opt-out, as well as a right to revoke their opt-out at any time.
When a respondent changes its information sharing practices, consumers
are again given the opportunity to opt-out. Again, staff assumes that
the time required of consumers to respond affirmatively to
respondents' opt-out programs (be it manually or electronically) would
be minimal.
** The estimate of respondents is based on the following assumptions:
(1) 100,000 respondents, approximately 70% of whom maintain customer
relationships exceeding one year, (2) no more than 1% (1,000) of whom
make additional changes to privacy policies at any time other than the
occasion of the annual notice; and (3) such changes will occur no more
often than once per year.
As calculated above, the total annual PRA burden hours and labor
costs for all affected entities in a given year would be 2,000,000
hours and $44,101,000, respectively.
Estimated Capital/Other Non-Labor Costs Burden: Staff believes that
capital or other non-labor costs associated with the document requests
are minimal. Covered entities will already be equipped to provide
written notices (e.g., computers with word processing programs,
typewriters, copying machines, mailing capabilities). Most likely, only
entities that already have on-line capabilities will offer consumers
the choice to receive notices via electronic format. As such, these
entities will already be equipped with the computer equipment and
software necessary to disseminate the required disclosures via
electronic means.
David C. Shonka,
Acting General Counsel.
[FR Doc. E8-14621 Filed 6-26-08: 8:45 am]