[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 147 (Tuesday, July 31, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45350-45352]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-18632]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION


Information Collection Being Submitted for Review and Approval to 
the Office of Management and Budget

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as part of its 
continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, invites the general 
public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment 
on the following information collection, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995. An agency may not conduct or sponsor a 
collection of information unless it displays a currently valid control 
number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply 
with a collection of information subject to the PRA that does not 
display a valid control number. Comments are requested concerning

[[Page 45351]]

whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including 
whether the information shall have practical utility; the accuracy of 
the Commission's burden estimate; ways to enhance the quality, utility, 
and clarity of the information collected; ways to minimize the burden 
of the collection of information on the respondents, including the use 
of automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology; and ways to further reduce the information collection 
burden on small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees. The FCC 
may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it 
displays a currently valid control number. No person shall be subject 
to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information 
subject to the PRA that does not display a valid Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) control number.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted on or before August 30, 
2012. If you anticipate that you will be submitting comments, but find 
it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this notice, 
you should advise the contacts below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Nicholas A. Fraser, OMB, via fax 
202-395-5167, or via email [email protected]; and to 
Cathy Williams, FCC, via email [email protected] 
[email protected] and to [email protected]. Include 
in the comments the OMB control number as shown in the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or copies 
of the information collection, contact Cathy Williams at (202) 418-
2918. To view a copy of this information collection request (ICR) 
submitted to OMB: (1) Go to the Web page <http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, (2) look for the section of the Web page 
called ``Currently Under Review,'' (3) click on the downward-pointing 
arrow in the ``Select Agency'' box below the ``Currently Under Review'' 
heading, (4) select ``Federal Communications Commission'' from the list 
of agencies presented in the ``Select Agency'' box, (5) click the 
``Submit'' button to the right of the ``Select Agency'' box, (6) when 
the list of FCC ICRs currently under review appears, look for the OMB 
control number of this ICR and then click on the ICR Reference Number. 
A copy of the FCC submission to OMB will be displayed.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OMB Control Number: 3060-0519.
    Title: Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer 
Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991, CG Docket No. 02-278.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities; Individuals or 
households; Not-for-profit institutions.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 50,151 respondents; 
147,453,559 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: .004 hours (15 seconds) to 1 hour.
    Frequency of Response: Recordkeeping requirement; Annual, on 
occasion and one-time reporting requirements; Third party disclosure 
requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The 
statutory authority for the information collection requirements is 
found in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA), Public 
Law 102-243 1, December 20, 1991, 105 Stat. 2394, which added Section 
227 of the Communications Act of 1934, [47 U.S.C. 227] Restrictions on 
the Use of Telephone Equipment.
    Total Annual Burden: 712,140 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $3,989,700.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: Confidentiality is an issue 
to the extent that individuals and households provide personally 
identifiable information, which is covered under the FCC's system of 
records notice (SORN), FCC/CGB-1, ``Informal Complaints and 
Inquiries.'' As required by the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a, the 
Commission also published a SORN, FCC/CGB-1 ``Informal Complaints and 
Inquiries'', in the Federal Register on December 15, 2009 (74 FR 66356) 
which became effective on January 25, 2010. A system of records for the 
do-not-call registry was created by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) 
under the Privacy Act. The FTC originally published a notice in the 
Federal Register describing the system. See 68 FR 37494, June 24, 2003. 
The FTC updated its system of records for the do-not-call registry in 
2009. See 74 FR 17863, April 17, 2009.
    Privacy Impact Assessment: Yes. The Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) 
was completed on June 28, 2007. It may be reviewed at: http://www.fcc.gov/omd/privacyact/Privacy-Impact-Assessment.html. The 
Commission is in the process of updating the PIA to incorporate various 
revisions made to the SORN.
    Needs and Uses: The reporting requirements included under this OMB 
Control Number 3060-0519 enable the Commission to gather information 
regarding violations of Section 227 of the Communications Act, the Do-
Not-Call Implementation Act (Do-Not-Call Act), and the Commission's 
implementing rules. If the information collection was not conducted, 
the Commission would be unable to track and enforce violations of 
Section 227 of the Communications Act, the Do-Not-Call Act, or the 
Commission's implementing rules. The Commission's implementing rules 
provide consumers with several options for avoiding most unwanted 
telephone solicitations.
    The national do-not-call registry supplements the company-specific 
do-not-call rules for those consumers who wish to continue requesting 
that particular companies not call them. Any company that is asked by a 
consumer, including an existing customer, not to call again must honor 
that request for five (5) years.
    A provision of the Commission's rules, however, allows consumers to 
give specific companies permission to call them through an express 
written agreement. Nonprofit organizations, companies with whom 
consumers have an established business relationship, and calls to 
persons with whom the telemarketer has a personal relationship are 
exempt from the ``do-not-call'' registry requirements.
    On September 21, 2004, the Commission released the Safe Harbor 
Order establishing a limited safe harbor in which persons will not be 
liable for placing autodialed and prerecorded message calls to numbers 
ported from a wireline service within the previous 15 days. The 
Commission also amended its existing National Do-Not-Call Registry safe 
harbor to require telemarketers to scrub their lists against the 
Registry every 31 days.
    On December 4, 2007, the Commission released the DNC NPRM seeking 
comment on its tentative conclusion that registrations with the 
Registry should be honored indefinitely, unless a number is 
disconnected or reassigned or the consumer cancels his registration.
    On June 17, 2008, in accordance with the Do-Not-Call Improvement 
Act of 2007, the Commission revised its rules to minimize the 
inconvenience to consumers of having to re-register their preferences 
not to receive telemarketing calls and to further the underlying goal 
of the National Do-Not-Call Registry to protect consumer privacy 
rights. The Commission released a Report and Order in CG Docket No. 02-
278, FCC

[[Page 45352]]

08-147, amending the Commission's rules under the Telephone Consumer 
Protection Act (TCPA) to require sellers and/or telemarketers to honor 
registrations with the National Do-Not-Call Registry so that 
registrations will not automatically expire based on the current five 
year registration period. Specifically, the Commission modified Sec.  
64.1200(c)(2) of its rules to require sellers and/or telemarketers to 
honor numbers registered on the Registry indefinitely or until the 
number is removed by the database administrator or the registration is 
cancelled by the consumer.
    Most recently, on February 15, 2012, the Commission released a 
Report and Order in CG Docket No. 02-278, FCC 12-21, revising its rules 
to: (1) Require prior express written consent for all autodialed or 
prerecorded telemarketing calls to wireless numbers and for all 
prerecorded telemarketing calls to residential lines; (2) eliminate the 
established business relationship exception to the consent requirement 
for prerecorded telemarketing calls to residential lines; (3) require 
telemarketers to include an automated, interactive opt-out mechanism in 
all prerecorded telemarketing calls, to allow consumers more easily to 
opt out of future robocalls during a robocall itself; and (4) require 
telemarketers to comply with the 3% limit on abandoned calls during 
each calling campaign, in order to discourage intrusive calling 
campaigns.
    Finally, the Commission also exempted from the Telephone Consumer 
Protection Act requirements prerecorded calls to residential lines made 
by health care-related entities governed by the Health Insurance 
Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.

Federal Communications Commission.
Bulah P. Wheeler,
Deputy Manager, Office of the Secretary, Office of Managing Director.
[FR Doc. 2012-18632 Filed 7-30-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P