[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 200 (Tuesday, October 16, 2012)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 63240-63242]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-25316]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 64

[CG Docket No. 02-278; FCC 12-21]


Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of effective date.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission announces that the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of three years, 
the information collection associated with the Commission's document 
Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (Report and Order). This 
notice is consistent with the Report and Order, which stated that the 
Commission would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing 
the effective date of those amendments.

DATES: The amendments to 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(2) and (3) published at 77 
FR 34233, June 11, 2012, are effective October 16, 2013, 47 CFR 
64.1200(a)(7) published at 77 FR 34233, June 11, 2012, is effective 
November 15, 2012, and 47 CFR 64.1200(b)(3), published at 77 FR 34233, 
June 11, 2012, is effective January 14, 2013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Johnson, Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau, at (202) 418-7706, or email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document announces that, on September 
17, 2012, OMB approved, for a period of three years, the information 
collection requirements contained in the Commission's Report and Order, 
FCC 12-21, published at 77 FR 34233, June 11, 2012. The OMB Control 
Number is 3060-0519. The Commission publishes this notice as an 
announcement of the effective date of those amendments. If you have any 
comments on the burden estimates listed below, or how the Commission 
can improve the collections and reduce any burdens caused thereby, 
please contact Cathy Williams, Federal Communications Commission, Room 
1-C823, 445 12th Street SW., Washington, DC 20554. Please include the 
OMB Control Number, 3060-0519, in your correspondence. The Commission 
will also accept your comments via the Internet if you send them to 
[email protected].
    To request materials in accessible formats for people with 
disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), 
send an email to [email protected] or call the Consumer and Governmental 
Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432 (TTY).

Synopsis

    As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3507), the FCC is notifying the public that it received OMB approval on 
September 17, 2012, for the information collection requirements 
contained in the

[[Page 63241]]

Commission's revised rules at 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(2), 64.1200(a)(3), 
64.1200(a)(7), and 47 CFR 64.1200(b)(3).
    Under 5 CFR 1320, an agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection 
of information unless it displays a current, valid OMB Control Number.
    No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply 
with a collection of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act 
that does not display a current, valid OMB Control Number. The OMB 
Control Number is 3060-0519.
    The foregoing notice is required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, Public Law 104-13, October 1, 1995, and 44 U.S.C. 3507.
    The total annual reporting burdens and costs for the respondents 
are as follows:
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0519.
    OMB Approval Date: September 17, 2012.
    OMB Expiration Date: September 30, 2015.
    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 requirement; 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, 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.

    Note: The Commission will prepare a revision to the SORN and PIA 
to cover the PII collected related to this information collection, 
as required by OMB's Memorandum M-03-22 (September 26, 2003) and by 
the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a.

    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, and the Commission's implementing rules. 
If the information collection were not conducted, the Commission would 
be unable to track and enforce violations of Section 227 of the 
Communications Act, the Do-Not-Call Implementation 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 originally 
had to honor that request for five years. In a subsequent order, the 
Commission required sellers and/or telemarketers to honor registrations 
with the National Do-Not-Call Registry indefinitely.
    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 a notice of proposed 
rulemaking seeking comment on its tentative conclusion under the Do-
Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007 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 consumers' privacy 
rights. The Commission released a Report and Order in CG Docket No. 02-
278, FCC 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 then-existing 
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 
pre-recorded telemarketing calls to wireless numbers and for all pre-
recorded telemarketing calls to residential lines; (2) eliminate the 
established business relationship exception to the consent requirement 
for pre-recorded telemarketing calls to residential lines; (3) require 
telemarketers to include an automated, interactive opt-out mechanism in 
all pre-recorded 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.

[[Page 63242]]

    Finally, the Commission exempted from the Telephone Consumer 
Protection Act requirements pre-recorded calls to residential lines 
made by health-care-related entities governed by the Health Insurance 
Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.

Federal Communications Commission.
Gloria J. Miles,
Federal Register Liaison, Office of the Secretary, Office of Managing 
Director.
[FR Doc. 2012-25316 Filed 10-15-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P