DDC Laboratories, Inc., Doing Business as DNA Diagnostics Center; Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid Public Comment, 4698-4700 [2014-01765]
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<![CDATA[
4698
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 19 / Wednesday, January 29, 2014 / Notices
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
grants your request in accordance with
the law and the public interest.
Postal mail addressed to the
Commission is subject to delay due to
heightened security screening. As a
result, we encourage you to submit your
comments online. To make sure that the
Commission considers your online
comment, you must file it at https://
ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/
falconsconsent by following the
instructions on the web-based form. If
this Notice appears at https://
www.regulations.gov/#!home, you also
may file a comment through that Web
site.
If you file your comment on paper,
write ‘‘Atlanta Falcons Football Club,
LLC.—Consent Agreement; File No.
142–3018’’ on your comment and on the
envelope, and mail or deliver it to the
following address: Federal Trade
Commission, Office of the Secretary,
Room H–113 (Annex D), 600
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington,
DC 20580. If possible, submit your
paper comment to the Commission by
courier or overnight service.
Visit the Commission Web site at
https://www.ftc.gov to read this Notice
and the news release describing it. 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 February 20, 2014. You can find
more information, including routine
uses permitted by the Privacy Act, in
the Commission’s privacy policy, at
https://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.
Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To
Aid Public Comment
The Federal Trade Commission
(‘‘FTC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’) has accepted,
subject to final approval, a consent
agreement applicable to the Atlanta
Falcons Football Club, LLC (‘‘the
Atlanta Falcons’’).
The proposed consent order has been
placed on the public record for thirty
(30) days for receipt of comments by
interested persons. Comments received
during this period will become part of
the public record. After thirty (30) days,
the Commission will again review the
agreement and the comments received,
and will decide whether it should
withdraw from the agreement and take
appropriate action or make final the
agreement’s proposed order.
This matter concerns alleged false or
misleading representations that the
Atlanta Falcons made to consumers
concerning their participation in the
Safe Harbor privacy framework (‘‘Safe
VerDate Mar<15>2010
16:05 Jan 28, 2014
Jkt 232001
Harbor’’) agreed upon by the U.S. and
the European Union (‘‘EU’’) (‘‘U.S.-EU
Safe Harbor Framework’’). It is among
several actions the Commission is
bringing to enforce the promises that
companies make when they certify that
they participate in the Safe Harbor
Framework. The Safe Harbor framework
allows U.S. companies to transfer data
outside the EU consistent with
European law. To join the Safe Harbor
framework, a company must self-certify
to the U.S. Department of Commerce
(‘‘Commerce’’) that it complies with a
set of principles and related
requirements that have been deemed by
the European Commission as providing
‘‘adequate’’ privacy protection.
Commerce maintains a public Web site,
www.export.gov/safeharbor, where it
posts the names of companies that have
self-certified to the Safe Harbor
framework. The listing of companies
indicates whether their self-certification
is ‘‘current’’ or ‘‘not current.’’
Companies are required to re-certify
every year in order to retain their status
as ‘‘current’’ members of the Safe Harbor
framework.
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional
football team and a member of the
National Football League. According to
the Commission’s complaint, from
September 2005 until November 2013,
the Atlanta Falcons set forth on their
Web site, www.atlantafalcons.com,
privacy policies and statements about
their practices, including statements
related to their participation in the U.S.EU Safe Harbor Framework.
The Commission’s complaint alleges
that the Atlanta Falcons falsely
represented that they were a ‘‘current’’
participant in the Safe Harbor when, in
fact, from September 2006 until
November 2013, the Atlanta Falcons
were not a ‘‘current’’ participant in the
U.S.-EU Safe Harbor Framework. The
Commission’s complaint alleges that in
September 2005, the Atlanta Falcons
submitted a Safe Harbor selfcertification. The Atlanta Falcons did
not renew the self-certification in
September 2006, and Commerce
subsequently updated the Atlanta
Falcons’ status to ‘‘not current’’ on its
public Web site.
Part I of the proposed order prohibits
the Atlanta Falcons from making
misrepresentations about their
membership in any privacy or security
program sponsored by the government
or any other self-regulatory or standardsetting organization, including, but not
limited to, the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor
Framework.
Parts II through VI of the proposed
order are reporting and compliance
provisions. Part II requires the Atlanta
PO 00000
Frm 00044
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Falcons to retain documents relating to
compliance with the order for a fiveyear period. Part III requires
dissemination of the order now and in
the future to persons with
responsibilities relating to the subject
matter of the order. Part IV ensures
notification to the FTC of changes in
corporate status. Part V mandates that
the Atlanta Falcons submit an initial
compliance report to the FTC, and make
available to the FTC subsequent reports.
Part VI is a provision ‘‘sunsetting’’ the
order after twenty (20) years, with
certain exceptions.
The purpose of this analysis is to
facilitate public comment on the
proposed order. It is not intended to
constitute an official interpretation of
the proposed complaint or order or to
modify the order’s terms in any way.
By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014–01736 Filed 1–28–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750–01–P
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
[File No. 142–3024]
DDC Laboratories, Inc., Doing
Business as DNA Diagnostics Center;
Analysis of Proposed Consent Order
To Aid Public Comment
Federal Trade Commission.
Proposed consent agreement.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The consent agreement in this
matter settles alleged violations of
federal law prohibiting unfair or
deceptive acts or practices. The attached
Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To
Aid Public Comment describes both the
allegations in the draft complaint and
the terms of the consent order—
embodied in the consent agreement—
that would settle these allegations.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before February 20, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a
comment at https://
ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/
ddcconsent online or on paper, by
following the instructions in the
Request for Comment part of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section
below. Write ‘‘DDC Laboratories, Inc.—
Consent Agreement; File No. 142–3024’’
on your comment and file your
comment online at https://
ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/
ddcconsent https://
ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/
fidelitynationalconsent by following the
instructions on the web-based form. If
you prefer to file your comment on
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\29JAN1.SGM
29JAN1
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 19 / Wednesday, January 29, 2014 / Notices
paper, mail or deliver your comment to
the following address: Federal Trade
Commission, Office of the Secretary,
Room H–113 (Annex D), 600
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington,
DC 20580.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Katherine White, Bureau of Consumer
Protection, (202–326–2878), 600
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington,
DC 20580.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant
to Section 6(f) of the Federal Trade
Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and
FTC Rule 2.34, 16 CFR 2.34, notice is
hereby given that the above-captioned
consent agreement containing consent
order to cease and desist, having been
filed with and accepted, subject to final
approval, by the Commission, has been
placed on the public record for a period
of thirty (30) days. The following
Analysis To Aid Public Comment
describes the terms of the consent
agreement, and the allegations in the
complaint. An electronic copy of the
full text of the consent agreement
package can be obtained from the FTC
Home Page (for January 21, 2014), on
the World Wide Web, at https://
www.ftc.gov/os/actions.shtm. A paper
copy can be obtained from the FTC
Public Reference Room, Room 130–H,
600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC 20580, either in person
or by calling (202) 326–2222.
You can file a comment online or on
paper. For the Commission to consider
your comment, we must receive it on or
before February 20, 2014. Write ‘‘DDC
Laboratories, Inc.—Consent Agreement;
File No. 142–3024’’ on your comment.
Your comment—including your name
and your state—will be placed on the
public record of this proceeding,
including, to the extent practicable, on
the public Commission Web site, at
https://www.ftc.gov/os/
publiccomments.shtm. As a matter of
discretion, the Commission tries to
remove individuals’ home contact
information from comments before
placing them on the Commission Web
site.
Because your comment will be made
public, you are solely responsible for
making sure that your comment does
not include any sensitive personal
information, like anyone’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, like medical records or
VerDate Mar<15>2010
16:05 Jan 28, 2014
Jkt 232001
other individually identifiable health
information. In addition, do not include
any ‘‘[t]rade secret or any commercial or
financial information which . . . is
privileged or confidential,’’ as discussed
in 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). In particular, do not include
competitively sensitive information
such as costs, sales statistics,
inventories, formulas, patterns, devices,
manufacturing processes, or customer
names.
If you want the Commission to give
your comment confidential treatment,
you must file it in paper form, with a
request for confidential treatment, and
you have to follow the procedure
explained in FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR
4.9(c).1 Your comment will be kept
confidential only if the FTC General
Counsel, in his or her sole discretion,
grants your request in accordance with
the law and the public interest.
Postal mail addressed to the
Commission is subject to delay due to
heightened security screening. As a
result, we encourage you to submit your
comments online. To make sure that the
Commission considers your online
comment, you must file it at https://
ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/
ddcconsent by following the
instructions on the web-based form. If
this Notice appears at https://
www.regulations.gov/#!home, you also
may file a comment through that Web
site.
If you file your comment on paper,
write ‘‘DDC Laboratories, Inc.—Consent
Agreement; File No. 142–3024’’ on your
comment and on the envelope, and mail
or deliver it to the following address:
Federal Trade Commission, Office of the
Secretary, Room H–113 (Annex D), 600
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington,
DC 20580. If possible, submit your
paper comment to the Commission by
courier or overnight service.
Visit the Commission Web site at
https://www.ftc.gov to read this Notice
and the news release describing it. 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 February 20, 2014. You can find
more information, including routine
uses permitted by the Privacy Act, in
1 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), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
PO 00000
Frm 00045
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
4699
the Commission’s privacy policy, at
https://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.
Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To
Aid Public Comment
The Federal Trade Commission
(‘‘FTC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’) has accepted,
subject to final approval, a consent
agreement applicable to DDC
Laboratories, Inc. (‘‘DDC’’).
The proposed consent order has been
placed on the public record for thirty
(30) days for receipt of comments by
interested persons. Comments received
during this period will become part of
the public record. After thirty (30) days,
the Commission will again review the
agreement and the comments received,
and will decide whether it should
withdraw from the agreement and take
appropriate action or make final the
agreement’s proposed order.
This matter concerns alleged false or
misleading representations that DDC
made to consumers concerning its
participation in the Safe Harbor privacy
framework (‘‘Safe Harbor’’) agreed upon
by the U.S. and the European Union
(‘‘EU’’) (‘‘U.S.-EU Safe Harbor
Framework’’). It is among several
actions the Commission is bringing to
enforce the promises that companies
make when they certify that they
participate in the Safe Harbor
Framework. The Safe Harbor framework
allows U.S. companies to transfer data
outside the EU consistent with
European law. To join the Safe Harbor
framework, a company must self-certify
to the U.S. Department of Commerce
(‘‘Commerce’’) that it complies with a
set of principles and related
requirements that have been deemed by
the European Commission as providing
‘‘adequate’’ privacy protection. These
principles include notice, choice,
onward transfer, security, data integrity,
access, and enforcement. Commerce
maintains a public Web site,
www.export.gov/safeharbor, where it
posts the names of companies that have
self-certified to the Safe Harbor
framework. The listing of companies
indicates whether their self-certification
is ‘‘current’’ or ‘‘not current.’’
Companies are required to re-certify
every year in order to retain their status
as ‘‘current’’ members of the Safe Harbor
framework.
DDC is a leading provider of private
DNA testing and focuses primarily on
testing to establish paternity and other
familial relationships. According to the
Commission’s complaint, since at least
November 2007, DDC has set forth on its
Web site, www.dnacenter.com, a privacy
policy and statement about its practices,
including a statement related to its
E:\FR\FM\29JAN1.SGM
29JAN1
4700
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 19 / Wednesday, January 29, 2014 / Notices
participation in the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor
Framework.
The Commission’s complaint alleges
that DDC, through its statement, falsely
represented that it was a ‘‘current’’
participant in the Safe Harbor when, in
fact, from November 2011 until
November 2013, DDC was not a
‘‘current’’ participant in the Safe Harbor.
The Commission’s complaint alleges
that in November 2007, DDC submitted
a Safe Harbor self-certification. DDC
subsequently renewed its selfcertification in November 2008,
November 2009, and November 2010.
DDC did not renew its self-certification
in November 2011 and Commerce
subsequently updated DDC’s status to
‘‘not current’’ on its public Web site. In
November 2013, DDC renewed its selfcertification to the Safe Harbor and its
status was changed to ‘‘current’’ on
Commerce’s Web site.
Part I of the proposed order prohibits
DDC from making misrepresentations
about its membership in any privacy or
security program sponsored by the
government or any other self-regulatory
or standard-setting organization,
including, but not limited to, the U.S.EU Safe Harbor Framework.
Parts II through VI of the proposed
order are reporting and compliance
provisions. Part II requires DDC to retain
documents relating to its compliance
with the order for a five-year period.
Part III requires dissemination of the
order now and in the future to persons
with responsibilities relating to the
subject matter of the order. Part IV
ensures notification to the FTC of
changes in corporate status. Part V
mandates that DDC submit an initial
compliance report to the FTC, and make
available to the FTC subsequent reports.
Part VI is a provision ‘‘sunsetting’’ the
order after twenty (20) years, with
certain exceptions.
The purpose of this analysis is to
facilitate public comment on the
proposed order. It is not intended to
constitute an official interpretation of
the proposed complaint or order or to
modify the order’s terms in any way.
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014–01765 Filed 1–28–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750–01–P
VerDate Mar<15>2010
16:05 Jan 28, 2014
Jkt 232001
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
[File No. 142–3019]
Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP;
Analysis of Proposed Consent Order
To Aid Public Comment
Federal Trade Commission.
Proposed consent agreement.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The consent agreement in this
matter settles alleged violations of
federal law prohibiting unfair or
deceptive acts or practices. The attached
Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To
Aid Public Comment describes both the
allegations in the draft complaint and
the terms of the consent order—
embodied in the consent agreement—
that would settle these allegations.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before February 20, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a
comment at https://
ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/
bakertillyconsent online or on paper, by
following the instructions in the
Request for Comment part of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section
below. Write ‘‘Baker Tilly Virchow
Krause, LLP—Consent Agreement; File
No. 142–3019’’ on your comment and
file your comment online at https://
ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/
bakertillyconsent https://
ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/
fidelitynationalconsent by following the
instructions on the web-based form. If
you prefer to file your comment on
paper, mail or deliver your comment to
the following address: Federal Trade
Commission, Office of the Secretary,
Room H–113 (Annex D), 600
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington,
DC 20580.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Katherine White, Bureau of Consumer
Protection, (202–326–2878), 600
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington,
DC 20580.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant
to Section 6(f) of the Federal Trade
Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and
FTC Rule 2.34, 16 CFR 2.34, notice is
hereby given that the above-captioned
consent agreement containing consent
order to cease and desist, having been
filed with and accepted, subject to final
approval, by the Commission, has been
placed on the public record for a period
of thirty (30) days. The following
Analysis To Aid Public Comment
describes the terms of the consent
agreement, and the allegations in the
complaint. An electronic copy of the
full text of the consent agreement
package can be obtained from the FTC
Home Page (for January 21, 2014), on
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00046
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
the World Wide Web, at https://
www.ftc.gov/os/actions.shtm. A paper
copy can be obtained from the FTC
Public Reference Room, Room 130–H,
600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC 20580, either in person
or by calling (202) 326–2222.
You can file a comment online or on
paper. For the Commission to consider
your comment, we must receive it on or
before February 20, 2014. Write ‘‘Baker
Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP—Consent
Agreement; File No. 142–3019’’ on your
comment. Your comment—including
your name and your state—will be
placed on the public record of this
proceeding, including, to the extent
practicable, on the public Commission
Web site, at https://www.ftc.gov/os/
publiccomments.shtm. As a matter of
discretion, the Commission tries to
remove individuals’ home contact
information from comments before
placing them on the Commission Web
site.
Because your comment will be made
public, you are solely responsible for
making sure that your comment does
not include any sensitive personal
information, like anyone’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, like medical records or
other individually identifiable health
information. In addition, do not include
any ‘‘[t]rade secret or any commercial or
financial information which . . . is
privileged or confidential,’’ as discussed
in 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). In particular, do not include
competitively sensitive information
such as costs, sales statistics,
inventories, formulas, patterns, devices,
manufacturing processes, or customer
names.
If you want the Commission to give
your comment confidential treatment,
you must file it in paper form, with a
request for confidential treatment, and
you have to follow the procedure
explained in FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR
4.9(c).1 Your comment will be kept
confidential only if the FTC General
Counsel, in his or her sole discretion,
1 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), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
E:\FR\FM\29JAN1.SGM
29JAN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 19 (Wednesday, January 29, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4698-4700]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-01765]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
[File No. 142-3024]
DDC Laboratories, Inc., Doing Business as DNA Diagnostics Center;
Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid Public Comment
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Proposed consent agreement.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged
violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or
practices. The attached Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid
Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft complaint
and the terms of the consent order--embodied in the consent agreement--
that would settle these allegations.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before February 20, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/ddcconsent online or on paper, by
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``DDC Laboratories,
Inc.--Consent Agreement; File No. 142-3024'' on your comment and file
your comment online at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/ddcconsent https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/fidelitynationalconsent by following the instructions on the web-based
form. If you prefer to file your comment on
[[Page 4699]]
paper, mail or deliver your comment to the following address: Federal
Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-113 (Annex D), 600
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katherine White, Bureau of Consumer
Protection, (202-326-2878), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC
20580.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Section 6(f) of the Federal
Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 2.34, 16 CFR 2.34,
notice is hereby given that the above-captioned consent agreement
containing consent order to cease and desist, having been filed with
and accepted, subject to final approval, by the Commission, has been
placed on the public record for a period of thirty (30) days. The
following Analysis To Aid Public Comment describes the terms of the
consent agreement, and the allegations in the complaint. An electronic
copy of the full text of the consent agreement package can be obtained
from the FTC Home Page (for January 21, 2014), on the World Wide Web,
at https://www.ftc.gov/os/actions.shtm. A paper copy can be obtained
from the FTC Public Reference Room, Room 130-H, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue
NW., Washington, DC 20580, either in person or by calling (202) 326-
2222.
You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to
consider your comment, we must receive it on or before February 20,
2014. Write ``DDC Laboratories, Inc.--Consent Agreement; File No. 142-
3024'' on your comment. Your comment--including your name and your
state--will be placed on the public record of this proceeding,
including, to the extent practicable, on the public Commission Web
site, at https://www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm. As a matter of
discretion, the Commission tries to remove individuals' home contact
information from comments before placing them on the Commission Web
site.
Because your comment will be made public, you are solely
responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any
sensitive personal information, like anyone'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, like medical records or other
individually identifiable health information. In addition, do not
include any ``[t]rade secret or any commercial or financial information
which . . . is privileged or confidential,'' as discussed in 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). In particular, do not include competitively sensitive
information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas,
patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.
If you want the Commission to give your comment confidential
treatment, you must file it in paper form, with a request for
confidential treatment, and you have to follow the procedure explained
in FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).\1\ Your comment will be kept
confidential only if the FTC General Counsel, in his or her sole
discretion, grants your request in accordance with the law and the
public interest.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 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), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to
heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit
your comments online. To make sure that the Commission considers your
online comment, you must file it at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/ddcconsent by following the instructions on the web-based form. If
this Notice appears at https://www.regulations.gov/#!home, you also may
file a comment through that Web site.
If you file your comment on paper, write ``DDC Laboratories, Inc.--
Consent Agreement; File No. 142-3024'' on your comment and on the
envelope, and mail or deliver it to the following address: Federal
Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-113 (Annex D), 600
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580. If possible, submit your
paper comment to the Commission by courier or overnight service.
Visit the Commission Web site at https://www.ftc.gov to read this
Notice and the news release describing it. 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 February 20, 2014. You can find more
information, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, in
the Commission's privacy policy, at https://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.
Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid Public Comment
The Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') has
accepted, subject to final approval, a consent agreement applicable to
DDC Laboratories, Inc. (``DDC'').
The proposed consent order has been placed on the public record for
thirty (30) days for receipt of comments by interested persons.
Comments received during this period will become part of the public
record. After thirty (30) days, the Commission will again review the
agreement and the comments received, and will decide whether it should
withdraw from the agreement and take appropriate action or make final
the agreement's proposed order.
This matter concerns alleged false or misleading representations
that DDC made to consumers concerning its participation in the Safe
Harbor privacy framework (``Safe Harbor'') agreed upon by the U.S. and
the European Union (``EU'') (``U.S.-EU Safe Harbor Framework''). It is
among several actions the Commission is bringing to enforce the
promises that companies make when they certify that they participate in
the Safe Harbor Framework. The Safe Harbor framework allows U.S.
companies to transfer data outside the EU consistent with European law.
To join the Safe Harbor framework, a company must self-certify to the
U.S. Department of Commerce (``Commerce'') that it complies with a set
of principles and related requirements that have been deemed by the
European Commission as providing ``adequate'' privacy protection. These
principles include notice, choice, onward transfer, security, data
integrity, access, and enforcement. Commerce maintains a public Web
site, www.export.gov/safeharbor, where it posts the names of companies
that have self-certified to the Safe Harbor framework. The listing of
companies indicates whether their self-certification is ``current'' or
``not current.'' Companies are required to re-certify every year in
order to retain their status as ``current'' members of the Safe Harbor
framework.
DDC is a leading provider of private DNA testing and focuses
primarily on testing to establish paternity and other familial
relationships. According to the Commission's complaint, since at least
November 2007, DDC has set forth on its Web site, www.dnacenter.com, a
privacy policy and statement about its practices, including a statement
related to its
[[Page 4700]]
participation in the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor Framework.
The Commission's complaint alleges that DDC, through its statement,
falsely represented that it was a ``current'' participant in the Safe
Harbor when, in fact, from November 2011 until November 2013, DDC was
not a ``current'' participant in the Safe Harbor. The Commission's
complaint alleges that in November 2007, DDC submitted a Safe Harbor
self-certification. DDC subsequently renewed its self-certification in
November 2008, November 2009, and November 2010. DDC did not renew its
self-certification in November 2011 and Commerce subsequently updated
DDC's status to ``not current'' on its public Web site. In November
2013, DDC renewed its self-certification to the Safe Harbor and its
status was changed to ``current'' on Commerce's Web site.
Part I of the proposed order prohibits DDC from making
misrepresentations about its membership in any privacy or security
program sponsored by the government or any other self-regulatory or
standard-setting organization, including, but not limited to, the U.S.-
EU Safe Harbor Framework.
Parts II through VI of the proposed order are reporting and
compliance provisions. Part II requires DDC to retain documents
relating to its compliance with the order for a five-year period. Part
III requires dissemination of the order now and in the future to
persons with responsibilities relating to the subject matter of the
order. Part IV ensures notification to the FTC of changes in corporate
status. Part V mandates that DDC submit an initial compliance report to
the FTC, and make available to the FTC subsequent reports. Part VI is a
provision ``sunsetting'' the order after twenty (20) years, with
certain exceptions.
The purpose of this analysis is to facilitate public comment on the
proposed order. It is not intended to constitute an official
interpretation of the proposed complaint or order or to modify the
order's terms in any way.
By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-01765 Filed 1-28-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P
