[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 78 (Tuesday, April 25, 2017)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 19009-19011]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-08248]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 312

RIN 3084-AB20


Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule Safe Harbor Proposed 
Self-Regulatory Guidelines; TRUSTe COPPA Safe Harbor Program 
Application To Modify Program Requirements

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission).

ACTION: Notification announcing submission of modifications to TRUSTe's 
Commission-approved ``safe harbor'' guidelines, and requesting public 
comment.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission publishes this document and 
request for public comment concerning proposed modifications to 
TRUSTe's self-regulatory guidelines,

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under the safe harbor provision of the Children's Online Privacy 
Protection Rule.

DATES: Written comments must be received by May 24, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper, by 
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``TRUSTe Application for 
Modifications to Safe Harbor Program Requirements, Project No. 
P024526'' on your comment, and file your comment online at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/coppatruste, by following the 
instructions on the web-based form. If you prefer to file your comment 
on paper, write ``TRUSTe Application for Modifications to Safe Harbor 
Program Requirements, Project No. P024526'' on your comment and on the 
envelope, and mail your comment to the following address: Federal Trade 
Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Suite 
CC-5610 (Annex E), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the 
following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 
Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW., 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex 
E), Washington, DC 20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristin Cohen, Attorney, (202) 326-
2276 or Peder Magee, Attorney, (202) 326-3538, Division of Privacy and 
Identity Protection, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC 20580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Section A. Background

    On October 20, 1999, the Commission issued its final Rule pursuant 
to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. 6501 et 
seq., which became effective on April 21, 2000.\1\ On December 19, 
2012, the Commission amended the Rule, and these amendments became 
effective on July 1, 2013.\2\ The Rule requires certain Web site and 
online service operators to post privacy policies and provide notice, 
and obtain verifiable parental consent, prior to collecting, using, or 
disclosing personal information from children under the age of 13.\3\ 
The Rule contains a ``safe harbor'' provision enabling industry groups 
or others to submit to the Commission for approval self-regulatory 
guidelines that would implement the Rule's protections.\4\
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    \1\ 64 FR 59888 (1999).
    \2\ 78 FR 3972 (2013).
    \3\ 16 CFR part 312.
    \4\ See 16 CFR 312.11; 78 FR at 3995-96, 4012-13.
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    Pursuant to Section 312.11 of the Rule, TRUSTe submitted proposed 
self-regulatory guidelines to the Commission that the FTC approved in 
May 2001. TRUSTe subsequently updated its guidelines to comply with the 
revised Rule, which became effective on July 1, 2013. TRUSTe is now 
seeking to modify its Commission-approved Safe Harbor program 
requirements. The text of the proposed modified program requirements is 
available on the Commission's Web site, at www.ftc.gov.

Section B. Questions on the Proposed Modified Program Requirements

    The Commission is seeking comment on various aspects of TRUSTe's 
proposed modified program requirements, and is particularly interested 
in receiving comment on the questions that follow. These questions are 
designed to assist the public and should not be construed as a 
limitation on the issues on which public comment may be submitted. Each 
response should cite the number and subsection of the question being 
answered. For all comments submitted, please provide any relevant data, 
statistics, or any other evidence, upon which those comments are based.
    1. Please provide comments on any or all of the proposed 
modifications to TRUSTe's program requirements. For each provision 
commented on please describe (a) the impact of the provision(s), 
including benefits and costs, if any, and (b) what alternatives, if 
any, should be considered, as well as the costs and benefits of those 
alternatives.
    2. Are the mechanisms used to assess operators' compliance with the 
proposed modified program requirements effective? \5\ If not, please 
describe (a) whether and how TRUSTe could modify the assessment 
mechanisms to satisfy the Rule's requirements, and (b) the costs and 
benefits of those modifications.
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    \5\ See 16 CFR 312.11(b)(2); 78 FR at 4013.
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    3. Are the incentives for operators' compliance with the proposed 
modified program requirements effective? \6\ If not, please describe 
(a) whether and how the incentives could be modified to satisfy the 
Rule's requirements, and (b) the costs and benefits of those 
modifications.
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    \6\ See 16 CFR 312.11(b)(3); 78 FR at 4013.
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    4. Please provide comments on any other issue deemed relevant to 
this matter.

Section C. Invitation To Comment

    You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to 
consider your comment, we must receive it on or before May 24, 2017. 
Write ``TRUSTe Application for Modifications to Safe Harbor Program 
Requirements, Project No. P024526'' on your comment. Your comment--
including your name and your state--will be placed on the public record 
of this proceeding, including, to the extent practicable, on the public 
Commission Web site, at https://www.ftc.gov/policy/public-comments. As 
a matter of discretion, the Commission tries to remove individuals' 
home contact information from comments before placing them on the 
Commission Web site.
    Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to 
heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit 
your comments online. To make sure that the Commission considers your 
online comment, you must file it at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/coppatruste, by following the instructions on the web-based form. 
If this document appears at http://www.regulations.gov/#!home, you also 
may file a comment through that Web site.
    If you file your comment on paper, write ``TRUSTe Application for 
Modifications to Safe Harbor Program Requirements, Project No. 
P024526'' on your comment and on the envelope, and mail or deliver it 
to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the 
Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Suite CC-5610 (Annex J), 
Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the following address: 
Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Constitution Center, 
400 7th Street SW., 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 
20024. If possible, submit your paper comment to the Commission by 
courier or overnight service.
    Because your comment will be placed on the publicly accessible FTC 
Web site at www.ftc.gov, you are solely responsible for making sure 
that your comment does not include any sensitive or confidential 
information. In particular, your comment should not include any 
sensitive personal information, such as your or anyone else'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. You are also 
solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include 
any sensitive health information, such as medical records or other 
individually identifiable health information. In

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addition, your comment should not include any ``trade secret or any 
commercial or financial information which . . . is privileged or 
confidential''--as provided by Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 
46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)--including in 
particular competitively sensitive information such as costs, sales 
statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices, manufacturing 
processes, or customer names.
    Once your comment has been posted on the public FTC Web site--as 
legally required by FTC Rule 4.9(b)--we cannot redact or remove your 
comment from the FTC Web site, unless you submit a confidentiality 
request that meets the requirements for such treatment under FTC Rule 
4.9(c), and the General Counsel grants that request in accordance with 
the law and the public interest. Comments containing material 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). In particular, the written request for confidential treatment 
that accompanies the comment must include the factual and legal basis 
for the request, and must identify the specific portions of the comment 
to be withheld from the public record. See FTC Rule 4.9(c).
    Visit the Commission Web site at http://www.ftc.gov to read this 
document and the news release describing 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 on or before May 24, 2017. You can find more information, 
including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, in the 
Commission's privacy policy, at https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy.

    By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-08248 Filed 4-24-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6750-01-P