[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 64 (Wednesday, April 2, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17980-17982]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-6821]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request; Extension
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (``Commission'' or ``FTC'').
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The information collection requirements described below will
be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') for
review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA''). The FTC
is seeking public comments on its proposal to extend through July 31,
2011, the current PRA clearance for information collection requirements
contained in the Commission's Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Privacy Rule
(``GLB Privacy Rule'' or ``Rule''). The current clearance expires on
July 31, 2008.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before June 2, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments.
Comments should refer to ``Paperwork Comment: FTC File No. P085405''
and may be submitted by any of the following methods. If, however, the
comment contains any material for which confidential treatment is
requested, it must be filed in paper form, and the first page of the
document must be clearly labeled ``Confidential.''\1\
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\1\ Commission Rule 4.2(d), 16 CFR 4.2(d). The comment must be
accompanied by an explicit request for confidential treatment,
including the factual and legal basis for the request, and must
identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from
the public record. The request will be granted or denied by the
Commission's General Counsel, consistent with applicable law and the
public interest. See Commission Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
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1. Web Site: Comments filed in electronic form should be submitted
by clicking on the following web link: https://secure.commentworks.com/
ftc-glbprivacyrulepra and following the instructions on the web-based
form. To ensure that the Commission considers an electronic comment,
you must file it on the web-based form at: https://
secure.commentworks.com/ftc-glbprivacyrulepra.
2. Mail or Hand Delivery: A comment filed in paper form should
include ``Paperwork Comment: FTC File No. P085405'' both in the text
and on the envelope and should be mailed or delivered to the following
address: Federal Trade Commission/Office of the Secretary, Room H-135
(Annex J), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. The
Commission is requesting that any comment filed in paper form be sent
by courier or overnight service, if possible.
The FTC Act and other laws the Commission administers permit the
collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding as
appropriate. All timely and responsive public comments will be
considered by
[[Page 17981]]
the Commission and will be available to the public on the FTC website,
to the extent practicable, at www.ftc.gov. As a matter of discretion,
the FTC makes every effort to remove home contact information for
individuals from the public comments it receives before placing those
comments on the FTC website. More information, including routine uses
permitted by the Privacy Act, may be found in the FTC's privacy policy
at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.shtm.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kellie Cosgrove Riley, Senior
Attorney, Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, Bureau of
Consumer Protection, (202) 326-2252, Federal Trade Commission, 600
Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington D.C. 20580.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3521, federal
agencies must obtain approval from OMB for each collection of
information they conduct or sponsor. ``Collection of information''
means agency requests or requirements that members of the public submit
reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party. 44
U.S.C. 3502(3), 5 CFR 1320.3(c). As required by section 3506(c)(2)(A)
of the PRA, the FTC is providing this opportunity for public comment
before requesting that OMB extend the existing paperwork clearance for
the GLB Privacy Rule, 16 CFR Part 313 (OMB Control Number 3084-0121).
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 the collection of information on those who
are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic
submission of responses.
The GLB Privacy Rule is designed to ensure that customers and
consumers, subject to certain exceptions, will have access to the
privacy policies of the financial institutions with which they conduct
business. As mandated by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, 15 U.S.C. 6801-
6809, the Rule requires financial institutions to disclose to
consumers: (1) initial notice of the financial institution's privacy
policy when establishing a customer relationship with a consumer and/or
before sharing a consumer's non-public personal information with
certain nonaffiliated third parties; (2) notice of the consumer's right
to opt out of information sharing with such parties; (3) annual notice
of the institution's privacy policy to any continuing customer; and (4)
notice of changes in the institution's practices on information
sharing. These requirements are subject to the PRA. The Rule does not
require recordkeeping.
Estimated annual hours burden: As noted in the original burden
estimate for the GLB Privacy Rule, determining the paperwork burden of
the Rule's disclosure requirements is very difficult because of the
highly diverse group of affected entities, consisting of financial
institutions not regulated by a federal financial regulatory agency.
See 15 U.S.C. 6805 (committing to the Commission's jurisdiction
entities that are not specifically subject to another agency's
jurisdiction).
The burden estimates represent the FTC staff's best assessment,
based on its knowledge and expertise relating to the financial
institutions subject to the Commission's jurisdiction under this law.
To derive these estimates, staff considered the wide variations in
covered entities. In some instances, covered entities may make the
required disclosures in the ordinary course of business, apart from the
GLB Privacy Rule. In addition, some entities may use highly automated
means to provide the required disclosures, while others may rely on
methods requiring more manual effort. The burden estimates shown below
include the time that may be necessary to train staff to comply with
the regulations. These figures are averages based on staff's best
estimate of the burden incurred over the broad spectrum of covered
entities.
Staff retains its prior estimate of the number of entities each
year that will address the GLB Privacy Rule for the first time (5,000)
and its estimate of established entities already familiar with the Rule
(100,000). While the number of established entities familiar with the
Rule would theoretically increase each year with the addition of new
entrants, staff retains its previous estimate of established entities
given that a number of the established entities will close in any given
year, and also given the difficulty of establishing a more precise
estimate. Staff's burden estimates for new entrants and established
entities are detailed in the charts below.
Start-up hours and labor costs for new entrants:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Approx. Approx.
Hourly wage Hours per Approx. Total Total
Event and labor Respondent Number of Annual Labor
category\*\ Respondents Hrs. Costs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reviewing $31.66 20 5,000 100,000 $3,166,00
internal managerial/ 0
policies professiona
and l
developi
ng GLBA-
implemen
ting
instruct
ions\**\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Creating $14.71 5 5,000 25,000 $367,750
disclosu clerical
re
document
or
electron
ic
disclosu
re
(includi
ng
initial,
annual,
and opt
out
disclosu
res)
--------------------------- ---------------------
$32.82 10 ............ 50,000 $1,641,00
professional/ 0
technical
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dissemina $14.71 15 5,000 75,000 $1,103,25
ting clerical 0
initial
disclosu
re
(includi
ng opt
out
notices)
--------------------------- ---------------------
[[Page 17982]]
$32.82 10 ............ 50,000 $1,641,00
professional/ 0
technical
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total ............ ........... ............ 300,000 $7,919,00
0
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\*\ Staff calculated labor costs by applying appropriate hourly cost
figures to burden hours. The hourly rates used were based on mean
wages for managerial/professional time (e.g., compliance evaluation
and/or planning), professional/technical time (e.g., designing and
producing notices, reviewing and updating information systems), and
clerical time (e.g., reproduction tasks, filing, and, where applicable
to the given event, typing or mailing). See BLS National Compensation
Survey, June 2006, Table 1, available at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/sp/
ncbl0910.pdf (Management, professional, and related; office and
administrative support) and BLS Occupational Employment and Wages
2006,Table 2, available at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/
ocwage.pdf (professional, scientific, and technical services -
business and financial operations). Labor cost totals reflect solely
that of the commercial entities affected. Staff assumes that the time
required of consumers to respond affirmatively to respondents' opt-out
programs (be it manually or electronically) would be minimal.
\**\ Reviewing instructions includes all efforts performed by or for the
respondent to: determine whether and to what extent the respondent is
covered by an agency collection of information, understand the nature
of the request, and determine the appropriate response (including the
creation and dissemination of document and/or electronic disclosures).
Burden hours and costs for established entities:
Burden for established entities already familiar with the Rule
predictably would be less than for start-up entities because start-up
costs, such as crafting a privacy policy, are generally one-time costs
and have already been incurred. Staff's best estimate of the average
burden for these entities is as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Approx. Approx.
Hourly wage Hours per Approx. Number Total Total
Event and labor Respondent of Annual Labor
category\*\ Respondents\**\ Hrs. Costs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reviewing $31.66 4 70,000 280,000 $8,864,8
GLBA- managerial/ 00
implemen professiona
ting l
policies
and
practice
s
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dissemina $14.71 15 70,000 1,050,00 $15,445,
ting clerical 0 500
annual
disclosu
re
-------------------------- -------------------
$32.82 5 ............... 350,000 $11,487,
professional/ 000
technical
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Changes $14.71 15 1,000 15,000 $220,650
to clerical
privacy
policies
and
related
disclosu
res
-------------------------- -------------------
$32.82 10 ............... 50,000 $164,100
professional/
technical
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total ............ .......... ............... 1,700,00 $36,182,
0 050
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\*\ Staff calculated labor costs by applying appropriate hourly cost
figures to burden hours; labor cost totals reflect solely that of the
commercial entities affected. The hourly rates used were based on mean
wages for managerial/professional time (e.g., compliance evaluation
and/or planning), professional/technical time (e.g., designing and
producing notices, reviewing and updating information systems), and
clerical time (e.g., reproduction tasks, filing, and, where applicable
to the given event, typing or mailing). See BLS National Compensation
Survey, June 2006, Table 1, available at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/sp/
ncbl0910.pdf (Management, professional, and related; office and
administrative support) and BLS Occupational Employment and Wages
2006,Table 2, available at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/
ocwage.pdf (professional, scientific, and technical services -
business and financial operations). Consumers have a continuing right
to opt-out, as well as a right to revoke their opt-out at any time.
When a respondent changes its information sharing practices, consumers
are again given the opportunity to opt-out. Again, staff assumes that
the time required of consumers to respond affirmatively to
respondents' opt-out programs (be it manually or electronically) would
be minimal.
\**\ The estimate of respondents is based on the following assumptions:
(1) 100,000 respondents, approximately 70% of whom maintain customer
relationships exceeding one year, (2) no more than 1% (1,000) of whom
make additional changes to privacy policies at any time other than the
occasion of the annual notice; and (3) such changes will occur no more
often than once per year.
As calculated above, the total annual PRA burden hours and labor
costs for all affected entities in a given year would be 2,000,000
hours and $44,101,000, respectively.
Estimated Capital/Other Non-Labor Costs Burden: Staff believes that
capital or other non-labor costs associated with the document requests
are minimal. Covered entities will already be equipped to provide
written notices (e.g., computers with word processing programs,
typewriters, copying machines, mailing capabilities). Most likely, only
entities that already have on-line capabilities will offer consumers
the choice to receive notices via electronic format. As such, these
entities will already be equipped with the computer equipment and
software necessary to disseminate the required disclosures via
electronic means.
William Blumenthal
General Counsel
[FR Doc. E8-6821 Filed 4-1-08: 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-S]