[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 13 (Friday, January 19, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3658-3659]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-01006]


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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 clearance for 
information collection requirements in the Trade Regulation Rule 
entitled Power Output Claims for Amplifiers Utilized in Home 
Entertainment Products (``Amplifier Rule'' or ``Rule''). This clearance 
expires on April 30, 2024.

DATES: Comments must be filed by March 19, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper, by 
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``Amplifier Rule, PRA 
Comment, P085405,'' 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hong Park, Attorney, Division of 
Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 
(202) 326-2158, [email protected].

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: 462 hours (308 testing hours; 154 
disclosure hours).
    Likely Respondents and Estimated Burden:
    (a) Testing--High fidelity manufacturers--308 new products/year x 1 
hour each = 308 hours; and
    (b) Disclosures--High fidelity manufacturers--[(308 new products/
year x 1 specification sheet) + (308 new products/year x 1 brochure)] x 
15 minutes per specification sheet or brochure = 154 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Periodic.
    Estimated Annual Labor Cost: $28,019 per year ($17,131 for testing 
+ $10,888 for disclosures).
    Abstract: The Amplifier Rule assists consumers by standardizing the 
measurement and disclosure of power output and related 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 Rule.
    Burden Estimates:
    Estimated annual hours of burden: 462 hours (308 testing hours; 154 
disclosure hours).
    The Rule's provisions require manufacturers making certain 
amplifier power output-related claims to test the power output in 
accordance with a specified FTC protocol. The Commission staff 
estimates that approximately 308 new models of covered products \1\ 
(i.e., amplifiers, receivers, and amplifier-integrated devices 
typically marketed to consumers with amplifier power output-related 
claims) come on the market each year. High fidelity manufacturers 
routinely conduct performance tests on these new models 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 308 hours (1 
hour x 308 new models) of added testing burden annually.
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    \1\ Staff estimates 2,500 models of amplifiers or amplifier-
integrated devices are sold in the U.S. each year and that 
approximately 2,050 models are marketed with amplifier power output-
related claims that would subject them to the Rule's requirements. 
Of these 2,050 models, staff estimates approximately 80% or 1,640 of 
the models have nominally new model numbers but only 15% or 308 of 
the models require new testing and disclosures because the products 
are either entirely new or have significant changes from their prior 
iteration.
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    In addition, the Rule requires disclosures if a seller makes a 
triggering power output-related claim for a covered product in an 
advertisement, specification sheet, or product brochure. This 
requirement does not impose any additional costs on sellers 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 model. 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 154 hours (derived from [(308 new 
models x 1 specification sheet) + (308 new models x 1 brochure)] x 0.25 
hours for each specification sheet or brochure). The total annual 
burden imposed by the Rule, therefore, is approximately 462 burden 
hours for testing and disclosures.
    Estimated annual labor cost burden: $28,019.
    Generally, electronics engineers perform the testing of amplifiers. 
Staff estimates a labor cost of $17,131 for such testing (308 hours for 
testing x $55.62 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 $10,888 (154 hours for disclosures x $70.70 mean hourly wages). 
Accordingly, staff estimates the total labor costs associated with the 
Rule to be approximately $28,019 per year ($17,131 for testing + 
$10,888 for disclosures).\2\
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    \2\ 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.
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    The Rule imposes no capital or other non-labor costs because its 
requirements

[[Page 3659]]

are incidental to testing and advertising done in the ordinary course 
of business.

Request for Comment

    Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the FTC invites 
comments on: (1) whether the disclosure and recordkeeping 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.
    For the FTC to consider a comment, we must receive it on or before 
March 19, 2024. 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.
    You can file a comment online or on paper. Due to 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 file your comment on paper, write ``Amplifier Rule, PRA 
Comment, P085405,'' 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. If possible, submit your paper comment to the 
Commission by 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 (1) be filed in paper form, (2) be clearly labeled 
``Confidential,'' and (3) 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 March 19, 
2024. 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. 2024-01006 Filed 1-18-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P