83 FR 18055 - Information Collection Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 80 (April 25, 2018)

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collections. Comments are requested concerning: 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; the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; 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; and ways to further reduce the information collection burden on small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees. The FCC 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.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 80 (Wednesday, April 25, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18055-18056]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-08571]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[OMB 3060-0519]


Information Collection Being Reviewed by the Federal 
Communications Commission

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, 
and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the 
Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) invites the 
general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to 
comment on the following information collections. Comments are 
requested concerning: 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; the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; ways to 
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; 
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; and ways to further reduce the 
information collection burden on small business concerns with fewer 
than 25 employees.
    The FCC 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 PRA comments should be submitted on or before June 25, 
2018. If you anticipate that you will be submitting comments, but find 
it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this notice, 
you should advise the contact listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Cathy Williams, FCC, via email to 
[email protected] and to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information about the 
information collection, contact Cathy Williams at (202) 418-2918.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    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: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities; Individuals or 
households; Not-for-profit institutions.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 22,503 respondents; 
140,186,983 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: .004 hours (15 seconds) to 1 hour.
    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), Pub. L. 
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: 606,838 hours. Total Annual Cost: $1,650,600.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: Confidentiality is an issue 
to the extent that individuals and households provide personally 
identifiable information, which is covered under the FCC's system of 
records notice (SORN), FCC/CGB-1, ``Informal Complaints and 
Inquiries.'' As required by the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a, the 
Commission also published a SORN, FCC/CGB-1 ``Informal Complaints, 
Inquiries, and Requests for Dispute Assistance'', in the Federal 
Register on August 15, 2014 (79 FR 48152) which became effective on 
September 24, 2014. A system of records for the do-not-call registry 
was created by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) under the Privacy 
Act. The FTC originally published a notice in the Federal Register 
describing the system. See 68 FR 37494, June 24, 2003. The

[[Page 18056]]

FTC updated its system of records for the do-not-call registry in 2009. 
See 74 FR 17863, April 17, 2009.
    Privacy Impact Assessment: Yes.
    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 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.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-08571 Filed 4-24-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6712-01-P