[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 131 (Thursday, July 9, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 37234-37235]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-18203]
[[Page 37233]]
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Part V
Federal Trade Commission
_______________________________________________________________________
16 CFR Part 432
Trade Regulation Rule Relating to Power Output Claims for Amplifiers
Utilized in Home Entertainment Products; Final Rule
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 131 / Thursday, July 9, 1998 / Rules
and Regulations
[[Page 37234]]
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
16 CFR Part 432
Trade Regulation Rule Relating to Power Output Claims for
Amplifiers Utilized in Home Entertainment Products
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (``Commission'' or ``FTC''), has
completed its regulatory review of the Rule relating to Power Output
Claims for Amplifiers Utilized in Home Entertainment Products (the
``Amplifier Rule'' or the ``Rule''). Pursuant to that review, the
Commission concludes that the Amplifier Rule continues to be valuable
both to consumers and firms and that certain substantive amendments to
the Rule may be appropriate. The Commission publishes the results of
the regulatory review and an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
(``ANPR'') in a separate document elsewhere in this Federal Register.
The regulatory review record suggests that a non-substantive technical
amendment be made to the Rule to clarify the Rule's applicability to
self-powered loudspeakers for use in the home. This document sets forth
that amendment.
DATES: The effective date of this amendment is July 9, 1998.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Dennis Murphy, Economist, Division of Consumer Protection, Bureau of
Economics, (202) 326-3524 or Robert E. Easton, Esq., Special Assistant,
Division of Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer Protection, (202) 326-3029,
Federal Trade Commission, Washington, D.C. 20580.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission is publishing this document
pursuant to Section 18 of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 57a et seq., the
provisions of Part 1, Subpart B of the Commission's Rules of Practice,
16 CFR 1.7 et seq., and 5 U.S.C. 551 et seq. This authority permits the
Commission to make a non-substantive amendment to a rule by seeking
comment and announcing the amendment in the Federal Register.
The Amplifier Rule was promulgated on May 3, 1974 (39 FR 15387), to
assist consumers in purchasing ``sound power amplification equipment
manufactured or sold for home entertainment purposes'' by standardizing
the measurement and disclosure of various performance characteristics
of the equipment.\1\ As examples of covered equipment, the Rule lists
radios, record and tape players, radio-phonograph and/or tape
combinations, component audio amplifiers ``and the like.'' \2\
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\1\ 16 CFR 432.1(a).
\2\ Id.
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On April 7, 1997, the Commission published a Federal Register
Notice (``FRN'') seeking comment on the Rule as part of a continuing
review of its trade regulation rules to determine their current
effectiveness and impact (62 FR 16500). This FRN sought comment on
issues relating to the costs and benefits of the Rule, what changes in
the Rule would increase its benefits to purchasers and how those
changes would affect compliance costs, and whether technological or
marketplace changes have affected the Rule. The FRN also sought comment
on the Rule's coverage of self-powered speakers for home use.
Specifically, the Commission announced its tentative conclusion that
the Rule covers self-powered speakers for use with home computers, home
sound systems, home multimedia systems and other sound power
amplification equipment for home computers.\3\ The FRN noted that,
although there were few self-amplified home entertainment speakers when
the Rule was promulgated in 1974, self-powered speakers fit within the
Rule's definition of covered products and are very similar to the
examples given in the Rule. The Commission also solicited comment on
additional issues related to coverage of self-powered speakers under
the Rule, including whether the standard test conditions set out in the
Rule are appropriate for such equipment.\4\
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\3\ 62 FR 16500.
\4\ The appropriateness of the standard test procedures for
self-powered speakers is addressed as part of the ANPR appearing
elsewhere in this Federal Register.
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The FRN elicited six written comments,\5\ four of which addressed
the issue of the rule's coverage of self-powered speakers. Two
manufacturers of self-powered loudspeakers for use with home sound
systems expressed unqualified support for including such equipment
within the Rule's coverage. One of these commenters stated that there
is a great deal of consumer confusion regarding amplifier performance
in self-powered speakers and that manufacturers ``are now engaging in
the same type of misleading practices that led to the creation of the
Amplifier Rule in 1974.'' \6\ One additional commenter appeared to
support including such equipment under the Rule, but expressed concern
that the Rule's current testing format and disclosures are not
compatible with combination speaker systems consisting of two or more
amplifiers.\7\ The principal trade association of the U.S. consumer
electronics industry supported applying the Rule to self-powered
speakers and including such products in the scope of the Rule.\8\
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\5\ The commenters were: Phillips Sound Labs [Phillips](1);
Fultron Car Audio [Fultron](2); Klipsch Audio and Home Theater
Products [Klipsch](3); Miller & Kreisel Sound Corporation [MK](4);
Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association [CEMA](5); and Labtec
Multimedia Speakers [Labtec](6). The comments are cited as ``[name
of commenter], Comment (designated number), p. __.'' All Rule review
comments are on the public record and are available for public
inspection in the Public Reference Room, Room 130, Federal Trade
Commission, 6th and Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC, from 8:30
a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except federal holidays.
\6\ See MK, (4), P. 1; Klipsch, (3), p. 1.
\7\ Labtec, (6), p.4. The commenter proposed that the Commission
amend the Rule to specify a separate testing protocol and disclosure
format for three-piece multimedia speaker systems comprised of a
subwoofer and two or more satellite speakers that are powered by
separate amplifiers that share a common power supply. This issue is
addressed in the ANPR appearing elsewhere in this Federal Register.
\8\ CEMA, (5), pp. 2, 7. This comment also recommended that the
Rule be amended at a future date to incorporate a standard for
measuring the volume of sound that a powered speaker can deliver
into the listening environment, rather than the power that the
amplifier can deliver to the speaker. This commenter stated that a
voluntary industry standard for measuring the loudness of powered
speakers was currently under development and could be incorporated
into the Rule.
The Commission has concluded that Rule coverage of such self-
powered speaker equipment should not be delayed until an industry
standard is developed for measuring and disclosing the sound output
of such speaker systems. The Commission lacks a sufficient basis to
conclude that the as-yet unspecified testing and disclosure format
would provide more useful information to consumers than would the
Rule's power rating protocol. In addition, even if the industry
should develop a loudness standard, some manufacturers may continue
to provide power output specifications that would be covered by the
current Rule. The Commission believes that the Rule's continuous
power output protocol and a future industry loudness protocol could
coexist in a complementary fashion should such a standard be
developed.
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On the basis of the plain language and intent of the Rule, as
supplemented by record comments, the Commission has concluded that
self-powered speaker systems for use with home computers, home
multimedia systems, and home sound systems are within the coverage of
the Rule. Self-powered speakers are ``sound power amplification
equipment'' which can be ``manufacture or sold for home entertainment
purposes.'' These speakers perform the same functions as the other
amplification equipment listed in the examples cited in the Rule.
Consequently, the Commission has determined to adopt a clarifying non-
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substantive amendment to the Rule that adds self-powered speakers for
use in home computer and sound systems to the list of examples of
covered sound power amplification equipment provided in Sec. 432.1(a)
of the Rule.
This non-substantive amendment to the Rule does not raise any
issues under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (``RFA''), 5 U.S.C. 601 et
seq. The amendment does not change the requirements of the Rule in any
manner. It simply clarifies the scope of the Rule by naming as examples
certain products that already are covered. The Commission, therefore,
certifies, pursuant to section 605 of the RFA, 5 U.S.C. 605, that the
amendment will not have a significant impact on a substantial number of
small entities. Similarly, the amendment does not raise any issues
under the Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA''), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. The
PRA requires government agencies, before promulgating rules or other
regulations that require ``collections of information'' (i.e., record
keeping, reporting, or third-party disclosure requirements), to obtain
approval from the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB''), 44 U.S.C.
3502. Because the amendment does not impose any collection of
information requirements, OMB approval is unnecessary.
List of Subjects in 16 CFR Part 432
Amplifiers, Electronic products, Home entertainment products, Trade
practices.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 16 CFR Part 432 is
amended as follows:
PART 432--POWER OUTPUT CLAIMS FOR AMPLIFIERS UTILIZED IN HOME
ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCTS
1. The authority citation for part 432 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 38 Stat. 717, as amended; (15 U.S.C. 41-58).
2. Section 432.1(a) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 432.1 Scope.
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, this part
shall apply whenever any power output (in watts or otherwise), power
band or power frequency response, or distortion capability or
characteristic is represented, either expressly or by implication, in
connection with the advertising, sale, or offering for sale, in
commerce as ``commerce'' is defined in the Federal Trade Commission
Act, of sound power amplification equipment manufactured or sold for
home entertainment purposes, such as for example, radios, record and
tape players, radio-phonograph and/or tape combinations, component
audio amplifiers, self-powered speakers for computers, multimedia
systems and sound systems, and the like.
* * * * *
Benjamin I. Berman,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-18203 Filed 7-8-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-M