[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 228 (Tuesday, November 27, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60863-60866]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-25730]


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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 to extend for 
three years the current PRA clearances for information collection 
requirements contained in the agency's shared enforcement with the 
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (``CFPB'') of subpart N of the 
CFPB's Regulation V (``Rule''). That clearance expires on November 30, 
2018.

DATES: Comments must be received by December 27, 2018.

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 ``Paperwork Reduction 
Act: FTC File No. P072108'' on your comment, and file your comment 
online at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/regulationVsubpartNpra2 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 
Ryan Mehm, Attorney, Bureau of Consumer Protection, (202) 326-2918, 
Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 
20580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Regulation V, Subpart N (12 CFR 1022.130-1022.138).
    OMB Control Number: 3084-0128.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Abstract: The FTC shares enforcement authority with the CFPB for 
subpart N of Regulation V. Subpart N requires nationwide consumer 
reporting agencies and nationwide consumer specialty reporting agencies 
to provide to consumers, upon request, one free file disclosure within 
any 12-month period. Generally, it requires the nationwide consumer 
reporting agencies, as defined in Section 603(p) of the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act (``FCRA''), 15 U.S.C. 1681a(p), to create and operate a 
centralized source that provides consumers with the ability to request 
their free annual file disclosures from each of the nationwide consumer 
reporting agencies through a centralized internet website, toll-free 
telephone number, and postal address. Subpart N also requires the 
nationwide consumer reporting agencies to establish a standardized form 
for internet and mail requests for annual file disclosures, and 
provides a model standardized form that may be used to comply with that 
requirement. It additionally requires nationwide specialty consumer 
reporting agencies, as defined in Section 603(w) of the FCRA, 15 U.S.C. 
1681a(w), to establish a streamlined process for consumers to request 
annual file disclosures. This streamlined process must include a toll-
free telephone number for consumers to make such requests.
    On August 27, 2018, the FTC sought public comment on the 
information collection requirements associated with subpart N (83 FR 
43683). No relevant public comments were received. Since the FTC sought 
public comment on August 27, 2018, the Consumer Data Industry 
Association provided an updated estimate regarding the number of free 
annual file disclosures requested by consumers through the centralized 
internet website required to be established by the FACT Act and subpart 
N. Accordingly, the FTC updated the PRA burden analysis based on this 
data.
    Pursuant to the OMB regulations, 5 CFR part 1320, that implement 
the PRA,

[[Page 60864]]

44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., the FTC is providing a second opportunity for 
the public to comment on: (1) Whether the disclosure requirements are 
necessary, including whether the information will be practically 
useful; (2) the accuracy of our burden estimates, including whether the 
methodology and assumptions used are valid; (3) ways to enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and 
(4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information.

Burden Statement

    Because the FTC shares enforcement authority with the CFPB for 
subpart N, the two agencies split between them the related estimate of 
PRA burden for firms under their co-enforcement jurisdiction. The 
overall burden calculations attributable to the CFPB and the FTC, are 
set out below. In summary after splitting between the two agencies, the 
estimated annual burden solely for FTC would be 176,360 hours, 
$3,560,755 in associated labor costs, and $5,677,650 in non-labor/
capital costs.

A. Requests per Year From Consumers for Free Annual File Disclosures

    The Consumer Data Industry Association (``CDIA'') estimated that in 
2016 and 2017, the nationwide consumer reporting agencies provided on 
average approximately 25 million free annual file disclosures through 
the centralized internet website required to be established by the FACT 
Act and subpart N. Based on its knowledge of the industry, FTC staff 
believes that the consumer reporting agencies provided no more than 6 
million free annual file disclosures through the centralized toll-free 
telephone number and postal address required to be established by the 
FACT Act and subpart N. Accordingly, we are now estimating 31 million 
requests per year as a representative average year to estimate PRA 
burden for purposes of the instant analysis. When it last sought 
clearance renewal for the Rule, the FTC had been unable to obtain, 
through public comment or otherwise, updated information on request 
volume. As a proxy, it then assumed a volume of 35 million requests per 
year. The CDIA attributes this decrease to the many new and alternative 
channels where consumers can access credit reports.

B. Annual File Disclosures Provided Through the Internet

    Both nationwide and nationwide specialty consumer reporting 
agencies will likely handle the overwhelming majority of consumer 
requests through internet websites. The annual file disclosure requests 
processed through the internet will not impose any hours burden per 
request on the nationwide and nationwide specialty consumer reporting 
agencies. However, consumer reporting agencies periodically will be 
required to adjust the internet capacity needed to handle the changing 
request volume. Consumer reporting agencies likely will make such 
adjustments by negotiating or renegotiating outsourcing service 
contracts annually or as conditions change. Trained personnel will need 
to spend time negotiating and renegotiating such contracts. Commission 
staff estimates that negotiating such contracts will require a 
cumulative total of 8,320 hours and $598,957 in labor costs. Based on 
the time necessary for similar activity in the federal government 
(including at the FTC), staff estimates that such contracting and 
administration will require approximately four full-time equivalent 
employees (``FTE'') for the web service contracts. Thus, staff 
estimates that administering the contract will require four FTE, which 
is 8,320 hours per year (four FTE x 2,080 hours/year). The cost is 
based on the reported May 2017 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) rate 
($71.99) for computer and information systems managers. See 
Occupational Employment and Wages--May 2017, Table 1, available at 
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.t01.htm. Thus, the estimated 
setup and maintenance cost for an internet system is $598,957 per year 
(8,320 hours x $71.99/hour).\1\ Such activity is treated as an annual 
burden of maintaining and adjusting the changing internet capacity 
requirements.
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    \1\ Based on the time necessary for similar activity in the 
federal government (including at the FTC), staff estimates that such 
contracting and administration will require approximately four full-
time equivalent employees (``FTE'') for the web service contracts. 
Thus, staff estimates that administering the contract will require 
four FTE, which is 8,320 hours per year (four FTE x 2,080 hours/
year). The cost is based on the reported May 2017 Bureau of Labor 
Statistics (BLS) rate ($71.99) for computer and information systems 
managers. See Occupational Employment and Wages--May 2017, Table 1, 
available at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.t01.htm. Thus, 
the estimated setup and maintenance cost for an internet system is 
$598,957 per year (8,320 hours x $71.99/hour).
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C. Annual File Disclosures Requested Over the Telephone

    Most of the telephone requests for annual file disclosures will 
also be handled in an automated fashion, without any additional 
personnel needed to process the requests. As with the internet, 
consumer reporting agencies will require additional time and investment 
to increase and administer the automated telephone capacity for the 
expected increase in request volume. The nationwide and nationwide 
specialty consumer reporting agencies will likely make such adjustments 
by negotiating or renegotiating outsourcing service contracts annually 
or as conditions change. Staff estimates that this will require a total 
of 6,240 hours at a cost of $449,218 in labor costs.\2\ This activity 
also is treated as an annual recurring burden necessary to obtain, 
maintain, and adjust automated call center capacity.
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    \2\ Staff estimates that recurring contracting for automated 
telephone capacity will require approximately three FTE, a total of 
6,240 hours (3 x 2,080 hours). Applying an hourly wage rate of 
$71.99 (see supra note 1), estimated setup and maintenance cost is 
$449,218 (6,240 x $71.99) per year.
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D. Annual File Disclosures Requiring Processing by Mail

    Based on their knowledge of the industry, staff believes that no 
more than 1% of consumers (1% x 31 million, or 310,000) will request an 
annual file disclosure through U.S. postal service mail. Staff 
estimates that clerical personnel will require 10 minutes per request 
to handle these requests, thereby totaling 51,667 hours of time. 
[(310,000 x 10 minutes)/60 minutes per hour = 51,667 hours]
    In addition, whenever the requesting consumer cannot be identified 
using an automated method (a website or automated telephone service), 
it will be necessary to redirect that consumer to send identifying 
material along with the request by mail. Staff estimates that this will 
occur in about 5% of the new requests (or 1,534,500) \3\ that were 
originally placed over the internet or telephone. Staff estimates that 
clerical personnel will require approximately 10 minutes per request to 
input and process those redirected requests for a cumulative total of 
255,750 clerical hours. [(1,534,500 x 10 minutes)/60 minutes per hour = 
255,750 hours]
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    \3\ This figure reflects five percent of all requests, net of 
the estimated one percent of all requests expected to have initially 
been made by mail. That is, 0.05 x (31,000,000-310,000) = 1,534,500.
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E. Instructions to Consumers

    The Rule also requires that certain instructions be provided to 
consumers. See Rule sections 1022.136(b)(2)(iv)(A-B), 
1022.137(a)(2)(iii)(A-B). Minimal associated time or cost is involved, 
however. Internet instructions to consumers are embedded in the 
centralized source website and do not require additional time or cost 
for the nationwide consumer reporting

[[Page 60865]]

agencies. Similarly, for telephone requests, the automated phone 
systems provide the requisite instructions when consumers select 
certain options. Some consumers who request their credit reports by 
mail might additionally request printed instructions from the 
nationwide and nationwide specialty consumer reporting agencies. Staff 
estimates that there will be a total of 1,844,500 requests each year 
for free annual file disclosures by mail.\4\ Based on their knowledge 
of the industry, staff estimates that, of the predicted 1,844,500 mail 
requests, 10% (or 184,450) will request instructions by mail. If 
printed instructions are sent to each of these consumers by mail, 
requiring 10 minutes of clerical time per consumer, this will total 
30,742 hours. [(184,450 instructions x 10 minutes)/60 minutes per hour 
= 30,742 hours]
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    \4\ This figure includes both the estimated 1% of 31 million 
requests that will be made by mail each year (310,000), and the 
estimated 1,534,500 requests initially made over the internet or 
telephone that will be redirected to the mail process (see supra 
note 3).
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F. Labor Costs

    Labor costs are derived by applying hourly cost figures to the 
burden hours described above. Staff anticipates that processing of 
requests for annual file disclosures and instructions will be performed 
by clerical personnel, and estimates that the processing will require 
338,159 hours at a cost of $6,073,336. [(51,667 hours for handling 
initial mail request + 255,750 hours for handling requests redirected 
to mail + 30,742 hours for handling instructions mailed to consumers) x 
$17.96 per hour.\5\]
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    \5\ See Occupational Employment and Wages--May 2017, Table 1, 
available at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.t01.htm (Office 
and administrative support workers, general).
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    As elaborated on above, staff estimates that a total of 14,560 
labor hours will be needed to negotiate or renegotiate outsourced 
service contracts annually (or as conditions otherwise change) to 
increase internet (8,320 hours) and telephone (6,240 hours) capacity 
requirements for internet web services and the automated telephone call 
center. This will result in approximately $1,048,174 per year in labor 
costs. [14,560 hours x $71.99 per hour \6\] Thus, estimated cumulative 
labor will costs are $7,121,510.
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    \6\ See supra notes 1 and 2.
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G. Net Burden for FTC

    176,360 hours and $3,560,755 in associated labor costs.
    After halving the updated estimates to split the PRA burden with 
the CFPB regarding the Rule, the FTC's burden totals are 176,360 hours 
and $3,560,755 in associated labor costs.

H. Estimated Capital and Other Non-Labor Costs

    As in the previous PRA clearance analysis, FTC staff believes it is 
likely that consumer reporting agencies will use third-party 
contractors (instead of their own employees) to increase the capacity 
of their systems. Because of the way these contracts are typically 
established, these costs will likely be incurred on a continuing basis, 
and will be calculated based on the number of requests handled by the 
systems. Staff estimates that the total annual amount to be paid for 
services delivered under these contracts is $11,355,300.\7\ After 
halving the updated estimates to split the PRA burden with the CFPB 
regarding the Rule, the FTC's burden total is $5,677,650 in non-labor/
capital costs.
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    \7\ This consists of an estimated $7,588,800 for automated 
telephone cost ($1.36 per request x 5.58 million requests) and an 
estimated $3,766,500 ($0.15 per request x 25.11 million requests) 
for internet web service cost. Per unit cost, estimates are based on 
staff's knowledge of the industry.
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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 27, 2018. Write 
``Paperwork Reduction Act: FTC File No. P072108'' 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 http://www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm.
    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/regulationVsubpartNpra2 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 website.
    If you file your comment on paper, write ``Paperwork Reduction Act: 
FTC File No. P072108'' 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 
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 
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

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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.
    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 27, 
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.

Heather Hippsley,
Deputy General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2018-25730 Filed 11-26-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6750-01-P