[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 215 (Wednesday, November 8, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51834-51835]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-24243]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'').

ACTION: Notice and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, 
the FTC is seeking public comments on its request to OMB for a three-
year extension of the current PRA clearance for information collection 
requirements contained in Use of Prenotification Negative Option Plans 
(``Negative Option Rule'' or ``Rule''). That clearance expires on 
November 30, 2017.

DATES: Comments must be received December 8, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper by 
following the instructions in the Request for Comments part of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``Negative Option Rule: 
FTC File No. P064202'' on your comment, and file your comment online at 
https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/NegOptionPRA2 by following the 
instructions on the web-based form. If you prefer to file your comment 
on paper, mail your comment 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the proposed information requirements should be addressed to 
John Andrew Singer, Attorney, Division of Enforcement, Bureau of 
Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue 
NW., CC-9528, Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326-3234.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Use of Prenotification Negative Option Plans (Negative 
Option Rule or Rule), 16 CFR 425.
    OMB Control Number: 3084-0104.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Abstract: The Negative Option Rule governs the operation of 
prenotification subscription plans. Under these types of plans, a 
seller provides a consumer with automatic shipments of merchandise such 
as when a consumer joins as a member in a seller's book of the month 
club, food of the month club, or clothing items of the month club 
unless the consumer affirmatively notifies the seller they do not want 
the shipment. The Rule requires that a seller notify a member that they 
will automatically ship merchandise to the member and bill the member 
for the merchandise if the subscriber fails to expressly reject the 
merchandise beforehand within a prescribed time. The Rule protects 
consumers by: (a) Requiring that promotional materials disclose the 
terms of membership clearly and conspicuously; and (b) establishing 
procedures for the administration of such ``negative option'' plans.
    On August 16, 2017, the Commission sought comment on the Rule's 
information collection requirements. 82 FR 38907. No germane comments 
were received.\1\ As required by OMB regulations, 5 CFR 1320, the FTC 
is providing this second opportunity for public comment.
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    \1\ The Commission received twelve non-germane comments.
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    Likely Respondents: Sellers of prenotification subscription plans.
    Estimated Annual Hours Burden: 9,725 hours.
    Estimated Annual Cost Burden: $473,750 (solely related to labor 
costs).
    Estimated Capital or Other Non-Labor Cost: $0 or de minimis.
    Request for Comment: You can file a comment online or on paper. For 
the FTC to consider your comment, we must receive it on or before 
December 8, 2017. Write ``Negative Option Rule: FTC File No. P064202'' 
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 http://
www.ftc.gov/os/

[[Page 51835]]

publiccomments.shtm. 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, or to send them to the Commission by courier or 
overnight service. To make sure that the Commission considers your 
online comment, you must file it at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/NegOptionPRA2 by following the instructions on the web-based form. 
When this Notice appears at http://www.regulations.gov, you also may 
file a comment through that Web site.
    If you file your comment on paper, write ``Negative Option Rule: 
FTC File No. P064202'' on your comment and on the envelope, and mail 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, Washington, DC 20024. If 
possible, submit your paper comment to the Commission by courier or 
overnight service. Comments on the information collection requirements 
subject to review under the PRA should additionally be submitted to 
OMB. If sent by U.S. mail, they should be addressed to Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 
Attention: Desk Officer for the Federal Trade Commission, New Executive 
Office Building, Docket Library, Room 10102, 725 17th Street NW., 
Washington, DC 20503. Comments sent to OMB by U.S. postal mail are 
subject to delays due to heightened security precautions. Thus, 
comments can also be sent via email to [email protected].
    Because your comment will be placed on the publicly accessible FTC 
Web site at https://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 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.
    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). Your comment will be kept 
confidential only if the General Counsel grants your request in 
accordance with the law and the public interest. 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.
    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 December 8, 
2017. For information on the Commission's privacy policy, including 
routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, see https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy.

Christian S. White,
Acting General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2017-24243 Filed 11-7-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6750-01-P