[Federal Register: July 21, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 140)]
[Notices]
[Page 42346-42349]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21jy08-45]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request; Extension
AGENCY: Federal Trade 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. The Federal Trade
Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') 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 September 19, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments.
Comments should refer to ``Administrative Activities: FTC File No.
P911409'' 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/Office of the Secretary, Room H-135, Annex J,
600 Pennsylvania Ave., 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. Moreover, because paper mail in the Washington area and at
the Agency 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\ 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).
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Comments filed in electronic form should be submitted via the
following weblink: (https://secure.commentworks.com/ftc-
adminactivities). 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-adminactivities). 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
regulations.gov forwards to it.
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 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: 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. ``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 information collection requirements pertaining to the
Commission's administrative activities (OMB Control Number 3084-0047).
The FTC invites comments on: (1) whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the agency, including whether the information will have practical
utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the
proposed 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
September 19, 2008.
The Commission's Administrative Activities clearance consists of:
(a)
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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
enforcement'' exception to the PRA\2\ 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.\3\ 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).
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\2\ 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).
\3\ Staff's estimates do not include Rule 4.1 submissions that
pertain to ongoing law enforcement matters. See supra note 2.
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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.\4\
Identity Theft
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\4\ 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.
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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.\5\ 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.
Surveys
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\5\ 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.
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Consumer customer satisfaction surveys give the agency information
about the overall effectiveness and
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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 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.
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Activity minutes/ Total Hours
respondents activity
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Misc. and fraud- 396,000 4.5 29,700
related consumer
complaints (phone)*
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Misc. and fraud- 520,000 5 43,333
related consumer
complaints
(online)**
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Identity theft 385,700 14 89,997
complaints (phone)*
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Identity theft 170,000 13 36,833
complaints
(online)**
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Do-Not-Call related 531,000 3.5 30,975
consumer complaints
(phone)
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Do-Not-Call related 3,548,000 2.5 147,833
consumer complaints
(online)
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Customer Satisfaction 9,600 4 640
Questionnaire
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Consumer Sentinel 2,500 10 417
User Surveys
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Totals 5,562,800 ............... 379,728
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* 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.
(c) Program Evaluations: 175 hours
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,\6\ 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.
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\6\ 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.)
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BC staff interviews representatives of the buyers to ask whether
all assets required to be divested were, in fact, divested;\7\ 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.
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\7\ 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 2.
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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
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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 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:
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.
William Blumenthal,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. E8-16508 Filed 7-18-08: 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-S