[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 212 (Monday, November 2, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69331-69333]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-24094]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


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

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 Trade Regulation Rule entitled Power 
Output Claims for Amplifiers Utilized in Home Entertainment Products 
(Amplifier Rule or Rule), (OMB Control Number 3084-0105). That 
clearance expires on January 31, 2021.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 4, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper by 
following the instructions in the Request for Comments part of the

[[Page 69332]]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``Amplifier 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: Jock K. Chung, Attorney, Division of 
Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 
Mail Code CC-9528, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20580, 
(202) 326-2984.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Amplifier Rule, 16 CFR part 432.
    OMB Control Number: 3084-0105.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Estimated Annual Hours of Burden: 450 hours (300 testing-related 
hours; 150 disclosure-related hours).
    Likely Respondents and Estimated Burden:
    (a) Testing--High fidelity manufacturers--300 new products/year x 1 
hour each = 300 hours; and
    (b) Disclosures--High fidelity manufacturers--[(300 new products/
year x 1 specification sheet) + (300 new products/year x 1 brochure)] x 
15 minutes per specification sheet or brochure = 150 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Periodic.
    Estimated Annual Labor Cost: $26,130 per year ($15,897 for testing 
+ $10,233 for disclosures).
    Abstract: The Amplifier Rule assists consumers by standardizing the 
measurement and disclosure of power output and other performance 
characteristics of amplifiers in stereos and other home entertainment 
equipment. The Rule also specifies the test conditions necessary to 
make the disclosures that the Rule requires.
    As required by section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A), the FTC is providing this opportunity for public comment 
before requesting that OMB extend the existing clearance for the 
information collection requirements contained in the Commission's 
Amplifier Rule.

Amplifier Rule Burden Statement

    Estimated annual hours of burden: 450 hours (300 testing hours; 150 
disclosure hours).
    The Rule's provisions require affected entities to test the power 
output of amplifiers in accordance with a specified FTC protocol. The 
Commission staff estimates that approximately 300 new amplifiers and 
receivers come on the market each year. High fidelity manufacturers 
routinely conduct performance tests on these new products prior to 
sale. Because manufacturers conduct such tests, the Rule imposes no 
additional costs except to the extent that the FTC protocol is more 
time-consuming than alternative testing procedures. In this regard, a 
warm-up period that the Rule requires before measurements are taken may 
add approximately one hour to the time testing would otherwise entail. 
Thus, staff estimates that the Rule imposes approximately 300 hours (1 
hour x 300 new products) of added testing burden annually.
    In addition, the Rule requires disclosures if a manufacturer makes 
a power output claim for a covered product in an advertisement, 
specification sheet, or product brochure. This requirement does not 
impose any additional costs on manufacturers because, absent the Rule, 
media advertisements, as well as manufacturer specification sheets and 
product brochures, would contain a power specification obtained using 
an alternative to the Rule-required testing protocol. The Rule, 
however, also requires disclosure of harmonic distortion, power 
bandwidth, and impedance ratings in manufacturer specification sheets 
and product brochures that might not otherwise be included.
    Staff assumes that manufacturers produce one specification sheet 
and one brochure each year for each new amplifier and receiver. The 
burden of disclosing the harmonic distortion, bandwidth, and impedance 
information on the specification sheets and brochures is limited to the 
time needed to draft and review the language pertaining to the 
aforementioned specifications. Staff estimates the time involved for 
this task to be a maximum of fifteen minutes (or 0.25 hours) for each 
new specification sheet or brochure for a total of 150 hours (derived 
from [(300 new products x 1 specification sheet) + (300 new products x 
1 brochure)] x 0.25 hours for each specification sheet or brochure). 
The total annual burden imposed by the Rule, therefore, is 
approximately 450 burden hours for testing and disclosures.
    Estimated annual labor cost burden: $26,130.
    Generally, electronics engineers perform the testing of amplifiers 
and receivers. Staff estimates a labor cost of $15,897 for such testing 
(300 hours for testing x $52.99 mean hourly wages). Staff assumes 
advertising or promotions managers prepare the disclosures contained in 
product brochures and manufacturer specification sheet and estimates a 
labor cost of $10,233 (150 hours for disclosures x $68.22 mean hourly 
wages). Accordingly, staff estimates the total labor costs associated 
with the Rule to be approximately $26,130 per year ($15,897 for testing 
+ $10,233 for disclosures).\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ The wage rates for electronics engineers and advertising and 
promotions managers are based on recent data from the Bureau of 
Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics Survey at 
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.htm.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Rule imposes no capital or other non-labor costs because its 
requirements are incidental to testing and advertising done in the 
ordinary course of business.

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 January 4, 2021.
    You can file a comment online or on paper. For the FTC to consider 
your comment, we must receive it on or before January 4, 2021. Write 
``Amplifier 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 ``Amplifier 
Rule; PRA

[[Page 69333]]

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 January 4, 
2021. 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.

Josephine Liu,
Assistant General Counsel for Legal Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2020-24094 Filed 10-30-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P