[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 124 (Tuesday, June 29, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37436-37438]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-15720]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'').
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
seeks public comments on its proposal to extend through December 31,
2013 the current OMB clearance for information collection requirements
contained in its Prescreen Opt-Out Disclosure Rule. That clearance
expires on December 31, 2010.
DATES: Comments must be filed by August 30, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments
electronically or in paper form by following the instructions in the
Request for Comments part of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section
below. Comments in electronic form should be submitted by using the
following weblink: (https://public.commentworks.com/ftc/prescreenoptoutPRA) (and following the instructions on the web-based
form). Comments filed in paper form should be mailed or delivered to
the following address: Federal Trade Commission,
[[Page 37437]]
Office of the Secretary, Room H-135 (Annex J), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue,
N.W., Washington, DC 20580, in the manner detailed in the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information
should be addressed to Katherine Armstrong, Attorney, Division of
Privacy and Identity Protction, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal
Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580,
(202) 326-3250.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Request for Comments
Interested parties are invited to submit written comments. Comments
should refer to ``Prescreen Opt-Out Disclosure Rule: FTC File No.
P075417'' to facilitate the organization of comments. Please note that
your comment - including your name and your state - 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).
Because comments will be made public, they should not include any
sensitive personal information, such as any 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 ``[t]rade secret or any
commercial or financial information which is obtained from any person
and which is privileged or confidential'' as provided in Section 6(f)
of the Federal Trade Commission Act (``FTC Act''), 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and
FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2). Comments containing matter 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\
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\1\ 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).
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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 using the following weblink
https://public.commentworks.com/ftc/prescreenoptoutPRA (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://public.commentworks.com/ftc/prescreenoptoutPRA).
If this Notice appears at (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.
The FTC Act and other laws that 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 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).
Under the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3521, federal agencies must obtain
approval from OMB for each collection of information they conduct or
sponsor. ``Collection of information'' means agency requests or
requirements that members of the public submit reports, keep records,
or provide information to a third party. 44 U.S.C. 3502(3); 5 CFR
1320.3(c). As required by section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the FTC is
providing this opportunity for public comment before requesting that
OMB extend the existing paperwork clearance for the regulations noted
herein.
The FTC invites comments on: (1) whether the required collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the agency, including whether the information has practical utility;
(2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the required
collection of information, including the validity of the methodology
and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize
the burden of the collection of information on those who are to
respond, including through the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic
submission of responses.
All comments should be filed as prescribed in the ADDRESSES section
above, and must be received on or before August 30, 2010.
Background
Section 615(d) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (``FCRA''), 15
U.S.C. 1681m(d)(1), requires that any person who uses a consumer report
in order to make an unsolicited firm offer of credit or insurance to
the consumer, shall provide with each written solicitation a clear and
conspicuous statement that:
(A) information contained in the consumer's consumer report was used
in connection with the transaction; (B) the consumer received the offer
of credit or insurance because the consumer satisfied the criteria for
credit worthiness or insurability under which the consumer was selected
for the offer; (C) if applicable, the credit or insurance may not be
extended if, after the consumer responds to the offer, the consumer
does not meet the criteria used to select the consumer for the offer or
any applicable criteria bearing on credit worthiness or insurability or
does not furnish any required collateral; (D) the consumer has a right
to prohibit information contained in the consumer's file with any
consumer reporting agency from being used in connection with any credit
or insurance transaction that is not initiated by the consumer; and (E)
the consumer may exercise the right referred to in subparagraph (D) by
notifying a notification system established under section 604(e) [of
the FCRA].
Section 615(d)(1) of the FCRA [15 U.S.C. 1681m(d)(1)].
The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, Pub. L. 108-
159, 117 Stat. 1952 (``FACT Act'') was signed into law on December 4,
2003. Section 213(a) of the FACT Act amended FCRA Section 615(d) to
require that the statement mandated by Section 615(d) ``be presented in
such format and in such type size and manner as to be simple and easy
to understand, as established by the Commission, by rule, in
consultation with the Federal banking agencies and the National Credit
Union Administration.'' The Commission published the Final Rule in the
Federal
[[Page 37438]]
Register on January 31, 2005 and the Rule became effective August 1,
2005.
The Rule adopted a ``layered'' notice approach that requires a
short, simple, and easy-to-understand statement of consumers' opt-out
rights on the first page of the prescreened solicitation, along with a
longer statement containing additional details elsewhere in the
solicitation. Specifically, the Rule required that a short notice be
placed on the front side of the first page of the principal promotional
document in the solicitation, or, if provided electronically, on the
same page and in close proximity to the principal marketing message.
The Rule specifies that the type size be larger than the type size of
the principal text on the same page, but in no event smaller than 12-
point type, or if provided by electronic means, then reasonable steps
shall be taken to ensure that the type size is larger than the type
size of the principal text on the same page. The Rule further provides
that the long notice, that appears elsewhere in the solicitation, be in
a type size that is no smaller than the type size of the principal text
on the same page, but in no event smaller than 8-point type. The long
notice shall begin with a heading in capital letters and underlined,
and identifying the long notice as the ``PRESCREEN & OPT-OUT NOTICE''
in a type style that is distinct from the principal type style used on
the same page and be set apart from other text on the page. The Rule
also includes model notices in English and Spanish.
Burden Statement
Estimated total annual hours burden: 1,000 to 1,500 hours
As in the 2007 PRA burden analysis when the Commission last sought
renewed clearance,\2\ FTC staff estimates that between 500 and 750
entities make prescreened solicitations and will each spend
approximately 2 hours to monitor compliance with the Rule. Accordingly,
cumulative total annual burden is between 1,000 to 1,500 hours.
Additionally, FTC staff assumes that in-house legal counsel will handle
most of the compliance review, and at an estimated average hourly wage
of $250/hour. Accordingly, cumulative labor cost for all affected
entities would be between $250,000 and $375,000. Capital and other non-
labor costs should be minimal, at most, since the Rule has been in
effect several years, with covered entities now equipped to provide the
required notice.
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\2\ 72 FR 60672 (Oct. 25, 2007); 72 FR 42092 (Aug. 1, 2007). No
comments were received in response to those notices.
Willard K. Tom
General Counsel
[FR Doc. 2010-15720 Filed 6-28-10: 2:08 pm]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-S