[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 139 (Friday, July 23, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39020-39022]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-15709]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[OMB 3060-XXXX; FR ID 38901]


Information Collection Being Submitted for Review and Approval to 
Office of Management and Budget

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, 
as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Federal 
Communications Commission (FCC or the Commission) invites the general 
public and other Federal Agencies to take this opportunity to comment 
on the following information collection. Pursuant to the Small Business 
Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, the FCC seeks specific comment on how it 
might ``further reduce the information collection burden for small 
business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.'' The Commission may 
not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a 
currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. 
No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a 
collection of information subject to the PRA that does not display a 
valid OMB control number.

DATES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed

[[Page 39021]]

information collection should be submitted on or before August 23, 
2021.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting 
``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using 
the search function. Your comment must be submitted into 
www.reginfo.gov per the above instructions for it to be considered. In 
addition to submitting in www.reginfo.gov also send a copy of your 
comment on the proposed information collection to Cathy Williams, FCC, 
via email to [email protected] and to [email protected]. Include in the 
comments the OMB control number as shown in the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or copies 
of the information collection, contact Cathy Williams at (202) 418-
2918. To view a copy of this information collection request (ICR) 
submitted to OMB: (1) Go to the web page http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, (2) look for the section of the web page called ``Currently 
Under Review,'' (3) click on the downward-pointing arrow in the 
``Select Agency'' box below the ``Currently Under Review'' heading, (4) 
select ``Federal Communications Commission'' from the list of agencies 
presented in the ``Select Agency'' box, (5) click the ``Submit'' button 
to the right of the ``Select Agency'' box, (6) when the list of FCC 
ICRs currently under review appears, look for the Title of this ICR and 
then click on the ICR Reference Number. A copy of the FCC submission to 
OMB will be displayed.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As part of its continuing effort to reduce 
paperwork burdens, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), the FCC invited the general public and 
other Federal Agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the 
following information collection. Comments are requested concerning: 
(a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including 
whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy 
of the Commission's burden estimates; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (d) ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on the 
respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology. Pursuant to the Small Business 
Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(4), the FCC seeks specific comment on how it might ``further 
reduce the information collection burden for small business concerns 
with fewer than 25 employees.''
    OMB Control Number: 3060-XXXX.
    Title: Advanced Methods to Target and Eliminate Unlawful Robocalls, 
Fourth Report and Order, CG Docket No. 17-59, FCC 20-187.
    Type of Review: New information collection.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Total Annual Burden: 199,412 hours.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
    Number of Respondents: 6,493 respondents; 582,434 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: .25 to 40 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On-occasion reporting requirement, on-going 
reporting requirement and Third-party Disclosure requirement.
    Total Annual Cost: No cost.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for these collections are contained in sections 
4(i), 201, 202, 217, 227, 227b, 251(e), 303(r), and 403 of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i), 201, 202, 
217, 227, 227b, 251(e), 303(r), 403.
    Needs and Uses: This notice and request for comments seeks to 
establish a new information collection as it pertains to the Advanced 
Methods to Target and Eliminate Unlawful Robocalls Fourth Report and 
Order (``Call Blocking Fourth Report and Order''), FCC 20-187. Unwanted 
and illegal robocalls have long been the Federal Communication 
Commission's (``Commission'') top source of consumer complaints and one 
of the Commission's top consumer protection priorities. In 2019, 
Congress passed the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal 
Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act. In addition to directing the 
Commission to mandate adoption of caller ID authentication technology 
and encourage voice service providers to block calls by establishing 
safe harbors, the TRACED Act directs the Commission to ensure that both 
consumers and callers are provided with transparency and effective 
redress when calls are blocked in error. In the Call Blocking Fourth 
Report and Order, the Commission took several steps to better protect 
consumers from unwanted and illegal robocalls, and implement the TRACED 
Act. The Commission expanded the existing safe harbor for blocking of 
calls, established affirmative requirements to ensure that voice 
service providers better police their networks against illegal calls, 
and adopted several transparency and redress requirements to ensure 
that erroneous blocking can be quickly identified and remedied.

Call Blocking Fourth Report and Order, FCC 20-187, Paras. 22-31, 47 CFR 
64.1200(n)(2)

    A voice service provider must: . . . Take steps to effectively 
mitigate illegal traffic when it receives actual written notice of such 
traffic from the Commission through its Enforcement Bureau. In 
providing notice, the Enforcement Bureau shall identify with as much 
particularity as possible the suspected traffic; provide the basis for 
the Enforcement Bureau's reasonable belief that the identified traffic 
is unlawful; cite the statutory or regulatory provisions the suspected 
traffic appears to violate; and direct the voice service provider 
receiving the notice that it must comply with this section. Each 
notified provider must promptly investigate the identified traffic. 
Each notified provider must then promptly report the results of its 
investigation to the Enforcement Bureau, including any steps the 
provider has taken to effectively mitigate the identified traffic or an 
explanation as to why the provider has reasonably concluded that the 
identified calls were not illegal and what steps it took to reach that 
conclusion. Should the notified provider find that the traffic comes 
from an upstream provider with direct access to the U.S. Public 
Switched Telephone Network, that provider must promptly inform the 
Enforcement Bureau of the source of the traffic and, if possible, take 
steps to mitigate this traffic.
    The first portion of the new information collection for which OMB 
approval is sought comes from the affirmative obligation adopted in the 
Call Blocking Fourth Report and Order that voice service providers 
effectively mitigate illegal traffic when notified of such traffic by 
the Commission's Enforcement Bureau. In adopting this requirement as 
well as the other affirmative obligations, the Commission made clear 
that, while most blocking is done by terminating voice service 
providers, originating and intermediate voice service providers are 
integral to stopping illegal calls. This requirement in particular 
gives the Commission an important tool in the fight to stop illegal 
calls.

Call Blocking Fourth Report and Order, FCC 20-187, Paras. 62-70, 47 CFR 
64.1200(k)(10)

    Any terminating provider that blocks calls on an opt-out or opt-in 
basis, either

[[Page 39022]]

itself or through a third-party blocking service, must provide, at the 
request of the subscriber to a number, at no additional charge and 
within 3 business days of such a request, a list of calls to that 
number, including the date and time of the call and the calling number, 
that the terminating provider or its designee blocked within the 28 
days prior to the request.
    The second portion of the new information collection for which OMB 
approval is sought comes from the requirement in the Call Blocking 
Fourth Report and Order that any terminating voice service provider 
that blocks calls on an opt-in or opt-out basis must provide, on the 
request of the subscriber to a particular number, a list of all calls 
intended for that number that the voice service provider or its 
designee has blocked. The list must include the prior 28 days of 
blocked calls and must be provided to the subscriber within 3 business 
days. The TRACED Act expressly directs the Commission to ensure that 
both consumers and callers are provided with transparency. In the Call 
Blocking Fourth Report and Order, the Commission determined that, while 
opt-in or opt-out blocking must already be disclosed to consumers, a 
consumer may be unaware that particular calls are blocked absent such a 
list. Consumers can use the list to determine whether to opt out of 
blocking services or reach out to callers whose calls may have been 
blocked.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-15709 Filed 7-22-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P