FR Doc E8-24296

[Federal Register: October 14, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 199)]
[Notices]
[Page 60699-60702]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14oc08-52]

[[Page 60699]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'').

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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. The FTC is seeking
public comments on its proposal to extend through October 31, 2011, the
current OMB clearance for the information collection requirements
pertaining to the Commission's administrative activities. That
clearance expires on October 31, 2008, and consists of: (a)
applications to the Commission, including applications and notices
contained in the Commission's Rules of Practice (primarily Parts I, II,
and IV); (b) the FTC's consumer complaint systems; (c) the FTC's
program evaluation activities and; (d) the FTC's Applicant Background
Form.

DATES: Comments must be filed by November 13, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments
electronically or in paper form. Comments should refer to
``Administrative Activities: FTC File No. P911409'' to facilitate the
organization of comments. Please note that comments will be placed on
the public record of this proceeding--including on the publicly
accessible FTC website, at (http://www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm)
-- and therefore should not include any sensitive or confidential
information. In particular, comments should not include any sensitive
personal information, such as an individual's Social Security Number;
date of birth; driver's license number or other state identification
number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number; financial
account number; or credit or debit card number. Comments also should
not include any sensitive health information, such as medical records
or other individually identifiable health information. In addition,
comments should not include any ``[t]rade secrets and commercial or
financial information obtained from a person and privileged or
confidential. . . .,'' as provided in Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15
U.S.C. 46(f), and Commission Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2).
Comments containing material for which confidential treatment is
requested must be filed in paper form, must be clearly labeled
``Confidential,'' and must comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c).\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\1\ FTC 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 FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Because paper mail addressed to the FTC is subject to delay due to
heightened security screening, please consider submitting your comments
in electronic form. Comments filed in electronic form should be
submitted by using the following weblink: (https://
secure.commentworks.com/ftc-adminactivitiespra2) (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 weblink: (https://secure.commentworks.com/ftc-
adminactivitiespra2). If this Notice appears at (http://
www.regulations.gov/search/index.jsp), you may also file an electronic
comment through that website. The Commission will consider all comments
that regulations.gov forwards to it. You may also visit the FTC website
at http://www.ftc.gov to read the Notice and the news release
describing it.
A comment filed in paper form should include the (https://
secure.commentworks.com/ftc-adminactivitiespra2) reference both in the
text and on the envelope, and should be mailed or delivered to the
following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary,
Room H-135 (Annex J), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC
20580. The FTC 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 Commission is subject to delay
due to heightened security precautions.
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. The Commission will consider all timely and responsive
public comments that it receives, whether filed in paper or electronic
form. Comments received will be available to the public on the FTC
website, to the extent practicable, at (http://www.ftc.gov/os/
publiccomments.shtm). As a matter of discretion, the Commission 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: Requests for additional information
should be addressed to Nick Mastrocinque, Attorney; Edwin Acajabon,
Program Manager, Division of Planning and Information, Bureau of
Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave.,
N.W., H-228, Washington, D.C. 20580, (202) 326-3188; (202) 326-3684.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA''),
44 U.S.C. 3501-3520, federal agencies must obtain approval from OMB for
each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. On July 21,
2008, the FTC sought comment on the information collection requirements
pertaining to the Commission's administrative activities (OMB Control
Number 3084-0047).\2\ No comments were received. Pursuant to the OMB
regulations that implement the PRA (5 CFR Part 1320), the FTC is
providing this second opportunity for public comment while seeking OMB
approval to extend the existing paperwork clearance for the
Commission's administrative activities. All comments should be filed as
prescribed in the ADDRESSES section above, and must be received on or
before November 13, 2008.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\2\ 73 FR 42346.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Commission's Administrative Activities clearance consists of:
(a) applications to the Commission, including applications and notices
contained in the Commission's Rules of Practice (primarily Parts I, II,
and IV); (b) the FTC's consumer complaint systems; (c) FTC program
evaluation activities; and (d) the FTC's Applicant Background Form.

Estimated annual hours burden: 380,295 hours.

(a) Applications to the Commission, including applications and
notices contained in the Commission's Rules of Practice: 100 hours

Most applications to the Commission generally fall within the ``law

[[Page 60700]]

enforcement'' exception to the PRA\3\ and are mostly found in Part III
(Rules of Practice for Adjudicative Proceedings) of the Commission's
Rules of Practice. See 16 CFR 3.1-3.83. Nonetheless, there are various
applications and notices to the Commission contained in other rules
(generally in Parts I, II, and IV of the Commission's Rule of
Practice). For example, staff estimates that the FTC annually receives
approximately 15 requests for clearance submitted by former FTC
employees in order to participate in certain matters and 5 screening
affidavits submitted by partners or legal or business associates of
former employees pursuant to Rule 4.1, 16 CFR 4.1.\4\ There are also
procedures set out in Rule 4.11(e) for agency review of outside
requests for Commission employee testimony, through compulsory process
or otherwise, in cases or matters to which the agency is not a party.
Rule 4.11(e) requires that a person who seeks such testimony submit a
statement in support of the request. Staff estimates that agency
personnel receive approximately 1 request per month or 12 per year.
Other types of applications and notices are either infrequent or
difficult to quantify. Nonetheless, in order to cover any potential
``collection of information'' for which separate clearance has not been
sought, staff conservatively projects the FTC will receive 50
applications or notices per year. Staff estimates each respondent will
incur, on average, approximately 2 hours of burden to submit an
application or notice, resulting in a cumulative annual total of 100
burden hours (50 applications or notices x 2 burden hours).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\3\ The ``law enforcement'' exception to the PRA excludes most
items in this subcategory because they involve collecting
information during the conduct of a Federal investigation, civil
action, administrative action, investigation, or audit with respect
to a specific party, or subsequent adjudicative or judicial
proceedings designed to determine fines or other penalties. See 44
U.S.C. 3518(c)(1); 5 CFR 1320.4(a)(1)-(3).
\4\ Staff's estimates do not include Rule 4.1 submissions that
pertain to ongoing law enforcement matters. See supra note 3.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual cost burden

Using the burden hours estimated above, staff estimates that the
total annual labor cost, based on a conservative estimated average of
$425/hour for executives' and attorneys' wages, would be approximately
$42,500 (100 hours x $425). There are no capital, start-up, operation,
maintenance, or other similar costs to respondents.

(b) Complaint Systems: 379,728 hours

Consumer Response Center

Consumers can submit complaints about fraud and other practices to
the FTC's Consumer Response Center by telephone or through the FTC's
website. Telephone complaints and inquiries to the FTC are answered
both by FTC staff and contractors. These telephone counselors ask for
the same information that consumers would enter on the applicable forms
available on the FTC's website. For telephone inquiries and complaints,
the FTC staff retains its previous estimates that it takes 4.5 minutes
per call to gather information, somewhat less time than the 5 minutes
estimated for consumers to enter a complaint online. The burden
estimate conservatively assumes that all of the phone call is devoted
to collecting information from consumers, although frequently telephone
counselors devote a small portion of the call to providing requested
information to consumers.

Complaints Concerning the National Do Not Call Registry

To receive complaints from consumers of possible violations of the
rules governing the National Do Not Call Registry, 16 CFR 310.4(b), the
FTC maintains both an online form and a toll free hotline with
automated voice response system. Consumer complainants must provide
either the name or telephone number of the company about which they are
complaining, the phone number that was called, and the date of the
call. They may also provide their name and address so they can be
contacted for additional information, as well as for a brief comment
regarding their complaint. In addition, online complainants have the
option of answering three yes-or-no questions to help law enforcement
investigating complaints; this option will also soon be made available
to phone complainants. The FTC staff estimates that the time required
of consumer complainants is 3.5 minutes for phone complaints and 2.5
minutes for online complaints.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\5\ This is a slight increase from staff's 2005 estimates
because of additional information collected, such as comments and
three optional yes-or-no questions.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Identity Theft

To handle complaints about identity theft, the FTC must obtain more
detailed information than is required of other complainants. Identity
theft complaints generally require more information (such as a
description of actions complainants have taken with credit bureaus,
companies, and law enforcement, and the identification of multiple
suspects) than general consumer complaints and fraud complaints. In
addition, the FTC has expanded the information required on its online
complaint form (such as collecting additional information about the
fraudulent activity at affected companies and creating an attachment
summarizing all of the fraudulent account activity as well as all
fraudulent information on the consumer's credit report). Consumers can
print out a copy of the revised form and use it to assist them in
completing a police report, if appropriate, and, as also may be
necessary, an identity theft report. See 16 CFR 603.3 (defining the
term ``identity theft report''). FTC staff continues to estimate that
the revised online form takes consumers up to 13 minutes to complete.
The FTC also made some revisions in the information it collects
from consumers who call the Consumer Response Center (``CRC'') with
identity theft complaints. Moreover, in order to better serve consumers
who are unable to file complaints online, staff will send those who
call the CRC with identify theft complaints a blank complaint form
(identical to the online printed form) to assist them with completing a
police or identify theft report as appropriate. Staff estimates that it
will take 14 minutes per call to obtain identity theft-related
information.\6\ A substantial portion of identity theft-related calls
typically consists of counseling consumers on other steps they should
consider taking to obtain relief (which may include directing consumers
to a revised online complaint form). The time needed for counseling is
excluded from the estimate.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\6\ This is a 5 minute increase from staff's 2005 estimate in
order to account for the time it will take consumers to fill out the
blank complaint form.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Surveys

Consumer customer satisfaction surveys give the agency information
about the overall effectiveness and timeliness of the CRC. The CRC
surveys roughly 1 percent of complainants who file identity theft or
general consumer complaints. Subsets of consumers contacted throughout
the year are questioned about specific aspects of CRC customer service.
Each consumer surveyed is asked several questions chosen from a list
prepared by staff. The questions are designed to elicit information
from consumers about the overall effectiveness of the call center. Half
of the questions ask consumers to rate CRC performance on a scale or
require a yes-or-no response. The second half of the survey asks more

[[Page 60701]]

open-ended questions seeking a short written or verbal answer. In
addition, the CRC may survey a sample of consumers immediately after
they file their complaints regarding the services they received. Staff
retains its previous estimate that each respondent will require 4
minutes to answer the questions (approximately 20-30 seconds per
question).
Finally, Consumer Sentinel user surveys give the agency information
about the overall effectiveness of its Consumer Sentinel Network.
Consumer Sentinel allows federal, state and local law enforcement
organizations common access to a secure database containing over six
million complaints from victims of consumer fraud and identity theft,
as well as other complaints the FTC collects. To date, Consumer
Sentinel has over 1,700 members, including law enforcement agencies
from Canada and Australia. FTC staff plan to survey a sizeable number
of Consumer Sentinel users each year about such things as overall
satisfaction, performance, and possible improvements. Staff retains its
previous estimate that the surveys should generally take approximately
10 minutes per respondent.
What follows are staff's estimates of burden for these various
collections of information, including the surveys. The figures for the
online forms and consumer hotlines are an average of annualized volume
for the respective programs including both current and projected
volumes over the 3-year clearance period sought and the number of
respondents for each activity has been rounded to the nearest thousand.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Activity minutes/ Total Hours
respondents activity
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Misc. and fraud-related consumer complaints (phone)* 396,000 4.5 29,700
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Misc. and fraud-related consumer complaints (online)** 520,000 5 43,333
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Identity theft complaints (phone)* 385,700 14 89,997
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Identity theft complaints (online)** 170,000 13 36,833
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do-Not-Call related consumer complaints (phone) 531,000 3.5 30,975
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do-Not-Call related consumer complaints (online) 3,548,000 2.5 147,833
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Customer Satisfaction Questionnaire 9,600 4 640
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consumer Sentinel User Surveys 2,500 10 417
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals 5,562,800 ............ 379,728
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Number of consumer calls calculated by projecting over the 3-year clearance period sought 5% annual growth and
a telephone contractor response rate of 95% (contracted level of service) with regard to consumers who call
the toll free lines and opt to talk to a counselor.
** Number of online collections projected from number of consumers who use the FTC's online complaint forms
noted in the text above. These figures also assume 5% annual growth for miscellaneous and fraud-related
complaints, and 8% annual growth for identity theft online complaints, over the 3-year clearance period
requested.

Annual cost burden

The cost per respondent should be negligible. Participation is
voluntary and will not require any labor expenditures by respondents.
There are no capital, start-up, operation, maintenance, or other
similar costs to the respondents.

Review of Divestiture Orders

The Commission issues, on average, approximately 10-15 orders in
merger cases per year that require divestitures. As a result of a 1999
study authorized by the OMB and conducted by the staffs of the Bureau
of Competition (``BC'') and the Bureau of Economics,\7\ BC monitors
these required divestitures by interviewing representatives of the
Commission-approved buyers of the divested assets within the first year
after the divestiture is completed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\7\ The Staff of the Bureau of Competition of the Federal Trade
Commission compiled its findings from the study in its report: A
Study of the Commission's Divestiture Process, 1999, available at
http://www.ftc.gov/os/1999/08/divestiture.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

BC staff interviews representatives of the buyers to ask whether
all assets required to be divested were, in fact, divested;\8\ whether
the buyer has used the divested assets to enter the market of concern
to the Commission and, if so, the extent to which the buyer is
participating in the market; whether the divestiture met the buyer's
expectations; and whether the buyer believes the divestiture has been
successful. In some cases, BC staff may also interview other
participants, including customers or trustee monitors, as appropriate.
In all these interviews, staff seeks to learn about pricing and other
basic facts regarding competition in the markets of concern to the FTC.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\8\ To the extent that the staff interviews focus on a law
enforcement activity (whether the party to the order complied with
all its obligations), the interviews are not subject to the
requirements of the PRA. See supra note 3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Participation by the buyers is voluntary. Each responding company
designates the company representative most likely to have the necessary
information; typically, a company executive and a lawyer represents the
company. Each interview takes approximately one hour to complete. BC
staff further estimates that it takes each participant no more than one
hour to prepare for the interview. In some instances, staff may do
additional interviews with customers of the responding company or the
monitor. Staff conservatively estimates that for each interview, two
individuals (a company executive and a lawyer) will devote two hours
(one hour preparing and one hour participating) each to responding to
questions for a total of four hours. In addition, for approximately
half of the divestitures, staff will seek to question two additional
respondents, adding four participants (a company executive and a lawyer
for each of the two additional respondents) devoting two hours each,
for a total of eight additional hours. Assuming that staff evaluates up
to 20 divestitures per year during the three-year clearance period, the
total hours burden for the responding companies will be approximately
160 hours per year ((20 divestiture reviews x 4 hours for preparing and
participating) + (10

[[Page 60702]]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
divestiture reviews x 8 hours for preparing and participating)).

Annual cost burden

Using the burden hours estimated above, staff estimates that the
total annual labor cost, based on a conservative estimated average of
$425/hour for executives' and attorneys' wages, would be approximately
$68,000 (160 hours x $425). There are no capital, start-up, operation,
maintenance, or other similar costs to respondents.

Review of Competition Advocacy Program

The FTC's competition advocacy program draws on the Commission's
expertise in competition and consumer protection matters to encourage
federal and state legislators, courts and other state and federal
agencies to consider the competitive effects of their proposed actions.
The FTC Office of Policy Planning (``OPP'') sends approximately 20
letters or written comments to different state and federal government
officials annually, which provide guidance on the likely competitive
effects of various laws or regulations.
In the past, OPP has evaluated the effectiveness of these advocacy
comments by surveying comment recipients and other relevant decision
makers. OPP intends to continue this evaluation by sending a written
questionnaire to relevant parties between six and nine months after an
advocacy comment is sent. Most of the questions ask the respondent to
agree or disagree with a statement concerning the advocacy comment that
they received. Specifically, these questions inquire as to the
applicability, value, persuasive influence, public effect, and
informative value of the FTC's comments. The questionnaire also
provides respondents with an opportunity to provide additional remarks
related either to the written comments received or the FTC's advocacy
program in general. Participation is voluntary.
OPP staff estimates that on average, respondents will take 30
minutes or less to complete the questionnaire and 15 minutes of
administrative time to prepare the response for mailing. Accordingly,
staff estimates that each respondent will incur 45 minutes of burden
resulting in a cumulative total of 15 burden hours per year (45 minutes
of burden per respondent x 20 respondents per year). OPP staff does not
intend to conduct any follow-up activities that would involve the
respondents' participation.

Annual cost burden

OPP staff estimates a conservative hourly labor cost of $100 for
the time of the survey participants (primarily state representatives
and senators) and an hourly labor cost of $16 for administrative
support time. Thus, staff estimates a total labor cost of $54 for each
response (30 minutes of burden at $100 per hour plus 15 minutes of
burden at $16 per hour). Assuming 20 respondents will complete the
questionnaire on an annual basis, staff estimates the total annual
labor costs will be approximately $1,080 ($54 per response x 20
respondents). There are no capital, start-up, operation, maintenance,
or other similar costs to respondents.

(d) Applicant Tracking Form: 292 hours

The FTC's Human Resources Management Office surveys job applicants
on their ethnicity, race, and disability status in order to determine
if recruitment is effectively reaching all aspects of the relevant
labor pool, in compliance with management directives from the Equal
Opportunity Employment Commission. Response by applicants is optional.
The information obtained is used for evaluating recruitment only and
plays no part in the selection of who is hired. The information is not
provided to selecting officials. Instead, the information is used in
summary form to determine trends over many selections within a given
occupational or organizational area. The information is treated in a
confidential manner. No information from the form is entered into the
official personnel file of the individual selected and all forms are
destroyed after the conclusion of the selection process. The format of
the questions on ethnicity and race are compliant with OMB requirements
and comparable to those used by other agencies.
Based upon past activity, the FTC staff estimates that up to 7,000
applicants will submit the form as part of the new online application
process and that the form will require approximately 2.5 minutes to
complete, for an annual burden total of approximately 292 hours (7000
applicants x 2.5 minutes to complete the form).

Annual cost burden

William Blumenthal,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. E8-24296 Filed 10-10-08: 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6750-01-S