[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 158 (Thursday, August 15, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66384-66385]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-18179]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[OMB 3060-0519, OMB 3060-1292; FR ID 238478]


Information Collections 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.''

DATES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be submitted on or before September 16, 
2024.

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: 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.
    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: 3060-0519.
    Title: Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer 
Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991, CG Docket No. 02-278.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities; Individuals or 
households; Not-for-profit institutions.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 171,026 respondents; 
193,328,796 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: .004 hours (15 seconds) to 8 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Annual, monthly, on occasion and one-time 
reporting requirements; Recordkeeping requirement; Third party 
disclosure requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The 
statutory authority for the information collection requirements are 
found in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA), Public 
Law 102-243, December 20, 1991, 105 Stat. 2394, which added section 227 
of the Communications Act of 1934, [47 U.S.C. 227] Restrictions on the 
Use of Telephone Equipment.
    Total Annual Burden: 3,535,421 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $1,357,200.
    Needs and Uses: The reporting requirements included under this OMB 
Control Number 3060-0519 enable the Commission to gather information 
regarding violations of section 227 of the Communications Act, the Do-
Not-Call Implementation Act (Do-Not-Call Act), and the Commission's 
implementing rules. If the information collection was not conducted, 
the Commission would be unable to track and enforce violations of 
section 227 of the Communications Act, the Do-Not-Call Act, or the 
Commission's implementing rules. The Commission's implementing rules 
provide consumers with several options for avoiding most unwanted 
telephone solicitations.
    The national do-not-call registry supplements the company-specific 
do-not-call rules for those consumers who

[[Page 66385]]

wish to continue requesting that particular companies not call them. 
Any company that is asked by a consumer, including an existing 
customer, not to call again must honor that request for five (5) years.
    A provision of the Commission's rules, however, allows consumers to 
give specific companies permission to call them through an express 
written agreement. Nonprofit organizations, companies with whom 
consumers have an established business relationship, and calls to 
persons with whom the telemarketer has a personal relationship are 
exempt from the ``do-not-call'' registry requirements.
    On September 21, 2004, the Commission released the Safe Harbor 
Order, published at 69 FR 60311, October 8, 2004, establishing a 
limited safe harbor in which persons will not be liable for placing 
autodialed and prerecorded message calls to numbers ported from a 
wireline service within the previous 15 days. The Commission also 
amended its existing National Do-Not-Call Registry safe harbor to 
require telemarketers to scrub their lists against the Registry every 
31 days.
    On December 4, 2007, the Commission released the DNC NPRM, 
published at 72 FR 71099, December 14, 2007, seeking comment on its 
tentative conclusion that registrations with the Registry should be 
honored indefinitely, unless a number is disconnected or reassigned or 
the consumer cancels his registration.
    On June 17, 2008, in accordance with the Do-Not-Call Improvement 
Act of 2007, the Commission revised its rules to minimize the 
inconvenience to consumers of having to re-register their preferences 
not to receive telemarketing calls and to further the underlying goal 
of the National Do-Not-Call Registry to protect consumer privacy 
rights. The Commission released a Report and Order in CG Docket No. 02-
278, FCC 08-147, published at 73 FR 40183, July 14, 2008, amending the 
Commission's rules under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) 
to require sellers and/or telemarketers to honor registrations with the 
National Do-Not-Call Registry so that registrations will not 
automatically expire based on the current five-year registration 
period. Specifically, the Commission modified Sec.  64.1200(c)(2) of 
its rules to require sellers and/or telemarketers to honor numbers 
registered on the Registry indefinitely or until the number is removed 
by the database administrator or the registration is cancelled by the 
consumer.
    On February 15, 2012, the Commission released a Report and Order in 
CG Docket No. 02-278, FCC 12-21, originally published at 77 FR 34233, 
June 11, 2012, and later corrected at 77 FR 66935, November 8, 2012, 
revising its rules to: (1) require prior express written consent for 
all autodialed or prerecorded telemarketing calls to wireless numbers 
and for all prerecorded telemarketing calls to residential lines; (2) 
eliminate the established business relationship exception to the 
consent requirement for prerecorded telemarketing calls to residential 
lines; (3) require telemarketers to include an automated, interactive 
opt-out mechanism in all prerecorded telemarketing calls, to allow 
consumers more easily to opt out of future robocalls during a robocall 
itself; and (4) require telemarketers to comply with the 3% limit on 
abandoned calls during each calling campaign, in order to discourage 
intrusive calling campaigns.
    Finally, the Commission also exempted from the Telephone Consumer 
Protection Act requirements prerecorded calls to residential lines made 
by health care-related entities governed by the Health Insurance 
Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
    OMB Control Number: 3060-1292.
    Title: Advanced Methods to Target and Eliminate Unlawful Robocalls, 
Fourth Report and Order, CG Docket No. 17-59, FCC 20-187.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
    Number of Respondents: 6,493 respondents; 575,941 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: .25 to 40 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On-occasion reporting requirement.
    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.
    Total Annual Burden: 173,440 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: No cost.
    Needs and Uses: On December 29, 2020, the Commission adopted 
Advanced Methods to Target and Eliminate Unlawful Robocalls Fourth 
Report and Order (``Call Blocking Fourth Report and Order''). 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.
    47 CFR 64.1200(k)(1), originally adopted in the Call Blocking 
Fourth Report and Order requires any terminating voice service provider 
that blocks calls on an opt-in or opt-out basis to 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. 2024-18179 Filed 8-14-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P