[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 56 (Thursday, March 22, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12578-12580]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-05799]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Docket No. C-4458]


CoreLogic Inc.; Analysis To Aid Public Comment

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Proposed consent agreement.

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SUMMARY: The consent agreement in this matter is intended to remedy the 
impact of CoreLogic's failure to comply fully with the Decision and 
Order previously issued in In the Matter of CoreLogic, Inc., Docket No. 
C-4458. The attached Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes the terms 
of the Order To Show Cause and Order Modifying Order--embodied in the 
consent agreement--that would remedy CoreLogic's failure to comply 
fully with the Decision and Order.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 16, 2018.

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: ``In the Matter of 
CoreLogic, Inc., Docket No. C-4458'' on your comment, and file your 
comment online at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/corelogicconsent by following the instructions on the web-based form. 
If you prefer to file your comment on paper, write ``In the Matter of 
CoreLogic, Inc., Docket No. C-4458'' 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 D), 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 
D), Washington, DC 20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Huber (202-326-3331), Bureau of 
Competition, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Section 6(f) of the Federal 
Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 2.34, 16 CFR 2.34, 
notice is hereby given that the above-captioned consent agreement 
containing a consent order to cease and desist, having been filed with 
and accepted, subject to final approval, by the Commission, has been 
placed on the public record for a period of thirty (30) days. The 
following Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes the terms of the 
consent agreement, and the allegations in the complaint. An electronic 
copy of the full text of the consent agreement package can be obtained 
from the FTC Home Page (for March 15, 2018), on the World Wide Web, at 
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/commission-actions.
    You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to 
consider your comment, we must receive it on or before April 16, 2018. 
Write ``In the Matter of CoreLogic, Inc., Docket No. C-4458'' 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 website, at https://www.ftc.gov/policy/public-comments.
    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/corelogicconsent by following the instructions on the web-based 
form. If this Notice appears at http://www.regulations.gov/#!home, you 
also may file a comment through that website.
    If you prefer to file your comment on paper, write ``In the Matter 
of CoreLogic, Inc., Docket No. C-4458'' 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 D), 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 
D), 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 
website 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

[[Page 12579]]

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 website--as legally required by FTC Rule 
4.9(b)--we cannot redact or remove your comment from the FTC website, 
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.
    Visit the FTC website at http://www.ftc.gov to read this Notice 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 April 16, 2018. 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.

Analysis of Agreement Containing Consent Orders To Aid Public Comment

I. Introduction

    The Federal Trade Commission (``Commission'') has accepted for 
public comment, subject to final approval, an Agreement Containing 
Consent Order (``Consent Agreement'') from Respondent CoreLogic Inc. 
(``CoreLogic''). The Consent Agreement is intended to remedy the impact 
of CoreLogic's failure to comply fully with the Decision and Order 
previously issued in this matter.
    Under the terms of the proposed Consent Agreement, CoreLogic 
consents to the Commission issuing an Order to Show Cause and Order 
Modifying Order. In the Order to Show Cause, the Commission describes 
the changes it proposes to make to the Decision and Order and the 
reasons these changes are necessary. CoreLogic disputes the allegations 
in the Order to Show Cause but consents to the Commission issuing the 
Order Modifying Order amending the Decision and Order.
    The Commission has placed the proposed Consent Agreement on the 
public record for 30 days to solicit comments from interested persons. 
Comments received during this period will become part of the public 
record. After 30 days, the Commission will again review the proposed 
Consent Agreement and the comments received, and will decide whether it 
should withdraw from the Consent Agreement, modify it, or make it 
final.

II. The Respondent

    Respondent CoreLogic is a publicly-traded company headquartered in 
Irvine, California. It provides real property information, analytics, 
and services to a broad array of customers. As part of its business, 
CoreLogic collects, maintains, and licenses aggregated county tax 
assessor and recorder data (``bulk data'') from across the United 
States.

III. The Decision and Order

    In 2014, CoreLogic sought to acquire DataQuick Information Systems, 
Inc. (``DataQuick''), a subsidiary of TPG VI Ontario 1 AIV L.P. Both 
CoreLogic and DataQuick licensed bulk data to customers, and the 
Commission alleged that the acquisition would significantly increase 
concentration in the market for national bulk data in violation of the 
federal antitrust laws. CoreLogic agreed to settle the matter by 
divesting assets to Renwood RealtyTrac LLC (``RealtyTrac'') that would 
enable RealtyTrac to replace DataQuick in the market for national bulk 
data. The Commission issued the Decision and Order requiring the 
divestiture on May 20, 2014 and CoreLogic completed the acquisition of 
DataQuick soon thereafter.
    The central requirement of the Decision and Order is that CoreLogic 
provide RealtyTrac with DataQuick's bulk data, and certain ancillary 
data that DataQuick sold with its bulk data so that RealtyTrac could 
compete on the same basis as DataQuick in the market affected by 
CoreLogic's acquisition. In addition, CoreLogic is required to license 
and provide updated bulk data to RealtyTrac for at least five years. 
CoreLogic is also required to provide information and assistance to 
RealtyTrac so that RealtyTrac can replicate DataQuick's ability to 
gather, license and maintain national bulk data after RealtyTrac's 
license with CoreLogic expires.
    The Decision and Order requires CoreLogic to enter an agreement 
with RealtyTrac to license the required data within 10 days of 
purchasing DataQuick. Sixty days after entering the license with 
RealtyTrac, CoreLogic was to provide DataQuick's bulk data and begin 
delivering updated bulk data. CoreLogic and RealtyTrac entered their 
license agreement on March 26, 2014.
    The Order also contains a number of provisions to support 
RealtyTrac's efforts to maintain competition in the bulk data market. 
CoreLogic must allow certain legacy DataQuick customers to terminate 
their DataQuick contracts in order to do business with RealtyTrac, and, 
during a period lasting until nine months after the Divestiture Date, 
include a six month termination clause in all new agreements with 
former DataQuick bulk data customers. In addition, the Decision and 
Order requires CoreLogic to facilitate RealtyTrac's ability to hire 
experienced DataQuick employees. Finally, the Order appoints Mr. 
Mitchell S. Pettit as monitor to oversee CoreLogic's compliance with 
the Order.

IV. The Order To Show Cause

    When CoreLogic signed the Consent Agreement, it represented that it 
could fulfill the terms of the Decision and Order. Instead, soon after 
CoreLogic began delivering bulk data to RealtyTrac, RealtyTrac 
discovered that it was missing data that DataQuick has provided to bulk 
data customers. RealtyTrac continued to uncover additional missing data 
for at least the next 2 years. When RealtyTrac contacted CoreLogic 
about the missing data, CoreLogic provided the data, but at a time well 
after the deadline for providing data in the Order. Contrary to the 
requirements of the Order, CoreLogic did not proactively identify the 
full scope of bulk data that DataQuick had used and ensure CoreLogic 
was delivering this data to RealtyTrac. In addition, CoreLogic did not 
provide RealtyTrac, Commission staff, or the monitor with complete and 
accurate information regarding the manner in which DataQuick provided 
bulk data to customers.
    CoreLogic also did not provide RealtyTrac certain data that 
DataQuick licensed from third parties. The Decision and Order requires 
CoreLogic to provide all of the bulk data that DataQuick used, 
including data licensed from third parties. CoreLogic agreed to this 
provision when it signed the Decision and Order. However, after the 
Commission entered the Decision and Order, CoreLogic informed 
Commission staff that it could not provide RealtyTrac with some of the 
required data because of limitations on DataQuick's rights to 
sublicense the data. CoreLogic offered to provide information and 
introductions to enable RealtyTrac to attempt to license the data from 
its owners. Although useful, this offer did not

[[Page 12580]]

comply with Decision and Order and required RealtyTrac to expend 
additional resources not contemplated when the Commission issued the 
Decision and Order.
    It also appears that CoreLogic did not provide all of the support 
to RealtyTrac that was required by the Order. For example, CoreLogic 
stopped standard third party testing of an ancillary product, in 
violation of the Decision and Order, and did not tell RealtyTrac or 
Commission staff that it had stopped this testing. RealtyTrac 
subsequently discovered a quality issue with the product that CoreLogic 
did not discover through its internal quality control processes. The 
issue was ultimately resolved and third party testing resumed.
    To help resolve the issue of missing data, the Monitor hired a 
Technical Assistant, Dr. Thomas Teague. Dr. Teague helped the Monitor 
develop and recommend a technical plan to (i) identify the data that 
CoreLogic was required to provide under the Order, (ii) provide all 
missing data and information to RealtyTrac, and (iii) verify that the 
required data and information had been provided. With the help of the 
Monitor, CoreLogic is in the final stages of completing this plan with 
RealtyTrac. After that, CoreLogic will transfer of all required 
information regarding DataQuick's bulk data business to RealtyTrac.
    CoreLogic's actions violated the Decision and Order and interfered 
with its remedial goal of maintaining competition in the market 
affected by CoreLogic's acquisition of DataQuick. CoreLogic slowed the 
delivery of DataQuick's bulk data and information to RealtyTrac. 
Further, RealtyTrac relied on CoreLogic's inaccurate assertions that it 
was providing RealtyTrac with all of DataQuick's bulk data. These 
actions, which violated its obligations under the Order, harmed 
RealtyTrac's reputation and required RealtyTrac to expend technical and 
financial resources to uncover missing data.

V. The Order Modifying Order

    The most significant modification to the Decision and Order is a 
three-year extension of the period during which CoreLogic must provide 
updated bulk data to RealtyTrac. The initial five-year term in the 
Decision and Order will expire in March 2019. This extension will 
remediate the effect of CoreLogic's delays in providing all of the 
required data to RealtyTrac and extend CoreLogic's obligations through 
March 2022.
    The Order Modifying Order also adds two detailed addenda to the 
Decision and Order: A Technical Transfer Plan and a Service Level 
Addendum. The Technical Transfer Plan identifies the steps CoreLogic 
will take to transfer required data and information. The Service Level 
Addendum requires CoreLogic to meet certain data quality metrics and 
identifies the steps that CoreLogic must take to resolve any quality 
issues that arise. The Order Modifying Order also requires CoreLogic to 
provide prior notice before modifying the DataQuick Fulfillment 
Platform, which will allow the Commission to verify that CoreLogic has 
not altered the platform in a manner that violates the Order.
    Finally, the Order Modifying Order resets two deadlines and 
decreases the frequency of required compliance reports. CoreLogic must 
provide customers early termination rights until nine months after 
completion of the first portion of the Technical Transfer Plan and 
provide technical assistance to RealtyTrac until one year after 
completion of the Technical Transfer Plan. The frequency of interim 
compliance reports is extended from every 60 days to every 90 days. 
This reduces the burden on CoreLogic without diminishing the ability of 
the staff and the Monitor to effectively monitor CoreLogic's compliance 
with the Decision and Order and Order Modifying Order.
    The Commission does not intend this analysis to constitute an 
official interpretation of the proposed Consent Agreement or to modify 
its terms in any way.

    By direction of the Commission. Commissioner McSweeny not 
participating by reason of recusal.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-05799 Filed 3-21-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P