[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 101 (Friday, May 24, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 24049-24050]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-10910]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 314

RIN 3084-AB35


Standards for Safeguarding Customer Information

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Extension of deadline for submission of public comments.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') is 
extending the deadline for filing public comments on its recent Notice 
of Proposed Rulemaking on the Standards for Safeguarding Customer 
Information (``Safeguards Rule'' or ``Rule'').

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 2, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper by 
following the Request for Comment part of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section below. Write ``Safeguards Rule, 16 CFR part 314, Project No. 
P145407,'' on your comment and file your comment online at https://www.regulations.gov 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 B), 
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 B), Washington, DC 
20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Lincicum (202-326-2773), 
Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, Bureau of Consumer 
Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Comment Period Extension

    On April 4, 2019, the Commission published a Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking for the Safeguards Rule (84 FR 13158), with a deadline for 
filing comments of June 3, 2019. On April 23, 2019, the National 
Automobile Dealers Association and the National Independent Automobile 
Dealers Association requested that the comment period be extended for 
90 days, until September 1, 2019, in order to give commenters 
sufficient time to respond to the extensive requests for comment found 
in the Notice. On the same day, EDUCAUSE, which represents members of 
the information technology field in higher education, requested a 60-
day extension, until August 2, for the same reason. On April 26, 2019, 
the American Financial Services Association requested a 90-day 
extension.
    The Commission agrees that allowing additional time for filing 
comments on the Safeguards Rule would help facilitate the creation of a 
more complete record. The Commission has therefore decided to extend 
the comment period for 60 days, to August 2, 2019. Although some 
requesters asked for a 90-day extension, the proposed rule was 
announced and made available on the Commission website on March 5, 30 
days before it was published in the Federal Register, and the 
Commission provided a 60-day period for comment rather than 30 days. 
Thus, the deadline of August 2, 2019, is four months after the proposed 
rule was published in the Federal Register, and five months after the 
proposed rule was first announced on the Commission's website. A 60-day 
extension provides commenters adequate time to consider the proposed 
rule while not unduly delaying the rulemaking process.

II. Request for Comment

    You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to 
consider your comment, we must receive it on or before August 2, 2019. 
Write ``Safeguards Rule, 16 CFR part 314, Project No. 145407'' on the 
comment. Your comment, including your name and your state, will be 
placed on the public record of this proceeding, including the https://www.regulations.gov website.
    Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to 
heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit 
your comment online. To make sure that the Commission considers your 
online comment, you must file it at https://www.regulations.gov by 
following the instructions on the web-based form.
    If you file your comment on paper, write ``Safeguards Rule, 16 CFR 
part 314, Project No. P145407'' 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 B), 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 
B), Washington, DC 20024. If possible, please submit your paper comment 
to the Commission by courier or overnight service.
    Because your comment will be placed on the publicly accessible 
website, https://www.regulations.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

[[Page 24050]]

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. Your comment will be kept confidential only if the 
FTC General Counsel grants your request in accordance with the law and 
the public interest. Once your comment has been posted on the https://www.regulations.gov website, we cannot redact or remove your comment 
from the 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 Commission website at https://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 August 2, 2019. 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.

    By direction of the Commission.
April J. Tabor,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019-10910 Filed 5-23-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6750-01-P