[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 149 (Monday, August 3, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46628-46630]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-16718]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) is seeking public 
comment on its proposal to extend for an additional three years the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) clearance for information 
collection requirements in its Use of Prenotification Negative Option 
Plans (``Negative Option Rule'' or ``Rule''). That clearance expires on 
December 31, 2020.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 2, 2020.

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; 
PRA Comment: FTC File No. P072108'' 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 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: Hampton Newsome, Attorney, Division of 
Enforcement, Federal Trade Commission, Room CC-9528, 600 Pennsylvania 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326-2889.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Use of Prenotification Negative Option Plans (Negative 
Option Rule or Rule), 16 CFR 425.\1\
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    \1\ The Commission recently published an Advance Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking seeking comments on the need for amendments to 
the current Rule. 84 FR 52393 (Oct. 2, 2019). The present PRA Notice 
is not part of that proceeding and merely seeks comment on the 
existing burden estimates for the current Rule, which applies only 
to ``prenotification'' negative option plans.
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    OMB Control Number: 3084-0104.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Likely Respondents: Sellers of prenotification subscription plans.
    Estimated Annual Hours Burden: 9,750 hours.
    Estimated Annual Cost Burden: $572,300 (solely related to labor 
costs).
    Estimated Capital or Other Non-Labor Cost: $0 or de minimis.
    Abstract: The Negative Option Rule governs the operation of 
prenotification subscription plans. Under these types of plans--which 
can include things such as a book of the month club, food of the month 
club, or clothing items of the month club--a seller provides a consumer 
with automatic shipments of merchandise 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.
    Under the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3521, the FTC is requesting that OMB 
renew the clearance for the PRA burden associated with the proposed 
collection.
    Burden statement:
    Estimated annual burden hours: 9,750.

[[Page 46629]]

    Based on industry input, staff estimates that approximately 75 
existing clubs each require annually about 100 hours to comply with the 
Rule's disclosure requirements. Approximately 10 new clubs come into 
being each year. Industry estimates of the number of existing clubs 
have fluctuated significantly since the early 2000s.\2\ Industry 
sources also report to the Commission that a substantial portion of the 
existing clubs would make these disclosures absent the Rule because 
they help foster long-term relationships with consumers.
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    \2\ The industry estimates of existing firms subject to the 
Rule's disclosure requirements range from 190 (2005), 158 (2008), 45 
(2011), 35 (2014) and 75 (2017). Such fluctuations have most likely 
derived from changes in the national economy and trends in the 
specific industries subject to the Rule.
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    Over the next three years, there will be an average 85 existing 
firms per year (75 + 85 + 95 / 3). Thus, the average annual hours of 
burden for existing firms is expected to be 8,500 hours (85 clubs x 100 
hours). The estimated 10 new clubs entering the market per year require 
approximately 125 hours to comply with the Rule, including start up-
time. Thus, the cumulative PRA burden for new clubs is about 1,250 
hours (10 clubs x 125 hours). Combined with the estimated burden for 
established clubs, the total annual burden is 9,750 hours.
    Estimated annual cost burden: $572,300 (solely related to labor 
costs).
    Based on recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics,\3\ the 
mean hourly wage for advertising managers is approximately $69 per 
hour; compensation for office and administrative support personnel is 
approximately $20 per hour. Assuming that managers perform the bulk of 
the work, and clerical personnel perform associated tasks (e.g., 
placing advertisements and responding to inquiries about offerings or 
prices), the total cost to the industry for the Rule's information 
collection requirements would be approximately $572,300 [(80 hours 
managerial time x 85 existing clubs x $69 per hour) + (20 hours 
clerical time x 85 existing clubs x $20 per hour) + (90 hours 
managerial time x 10 new clubs x $69 per hour) + (35 hours clerical 
time x 10 new clubs x $20)].
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    \3\ Occupational Employment And Wages--May 2019, Table 1, at 
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.t01.htm.
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    Because the Rule has been in effect since 1974, the vast majority 
of the negative option clubs have no current start-up costs. For the 
new clubs that enter the market each year, the costs associated with 
the Rule's disclosure requirements, beyond the additional labor costs 
discussed above, are de minimis. Negative option clubs already have 
access to the ordinary office equipment necessary to comply with the 
Rule. Similarly, the Rule imposes few, if any, printing and 
distribution costs. The required disclosures generally constitute only 
a small addition to the advertising for negative option plans. Because 
printing and distribution expenditures are incurred to market the 
product regardless of the Rule, adding the required disclosures results 
in marginal incremental expense.

Request for Comments

    Pursuant to Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the FTC invites 
comments on: (1) Whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the 
accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed 
collection of information, including the validity of the methodology 
and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize 
the burden of maintaining records and providing disclosures to 
consumers. All comments must be received on or before October 2, 2020.
    You can file a comment online or on paper. For the FTC to consider 
your comment, we must receive it on or before October 2, 2020. Write 
``Negative Option Rule; PRA Comment: 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 the https://www.regulations.gov website.
    Due to the public health emergency in response to the COVID-19 
outbreak and the agency's heightened security screening, postal mail 
addressed to the Commission will be subject to delay. We encourage you 
to submit your comments online through the https://www.regulations.gov 
website.
    If you prefer to file your comment on paper, write ``Negative 
Option Rule; PRA Comment: FTC File No. P072108'' 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 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 become publicly available at 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 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 publicly at www.regulations.gov, we cannot redact or remove 
your comment 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 October 2, 
2020. For information on the Commission's privacy policy, including 
routine uses permitted by the

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Privacy Act, see https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy.

Josephine Liu,
Assistant General Counsel for Legal Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2020-16718 Filed 7-31-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P