Notice of Public Information Collection(s) Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission, Comments Requested, 53686-53688 [E6-15194]

Agencies

• FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 176 (Tuesday, September 12, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53686-53688]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-15194]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION


Notice of Public Information Collection(s) Being Reviewed by the 
Federal Communications Commission, Comments Requested

September 7, 2006.
SUMMARY: The Federal Communications Commission, as part of its 
continuing effort to reduce paperwork burden, invites the general 
public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment 
on the following information collection(s), as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, Public Law No. 104-13. An agency 
may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it 
displays a currently valid control number. No person shall be subject 
to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information 
subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act that does not display a valid 
control number. 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 estimate; (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.

DATES: Written Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) comments should be 
submitted on or before November 13, 2006. 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: You may submit your Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) comments 
by e-mail or U.S. postal mail. To submit you comments by e-mail send 
them to: PRA@fcc.gov. To submit your comments by U.S. mail, mark it to 
the attention of Leslie F. Smith, Federal Communications Commission, 
445 12th Street, SW., Room 1-C216, Washington, DC 20554.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information about the 
information collection(s) send an e-mail to PRA@fcc.gov or contact 
Leslie F. Smith at 202-418-0217.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

OMB Control Number: 3060-0874

    Title: Consumer Complaint Form and Obscene, Profane, and Indecent 
Complaint Form.
    Form Number(s): FCC Form 475 and FCC Form 475-B.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit entities; Not-for-profit institutions; Federal Government; 
State, local or tribal government.
    Number of Respondents: 1,330,104 (FCC Form 475: 58,772; FCC Form 
475-B: 1,271,332).
    Estimated Time per Response: 30 minutes per form.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement.
    Total Annual Burden: 665,052 (FCC Form 475: 29,386 hours; FCC Form 
475-B: 635,666 hours).
    Total Annual Cost: None.
    Privacy Impact Assessment: Yes.
    Needs and Use: Consumers use FCC Form 475, Consumer Complaint Form, 
to delineate precisely the issue(s) concerning the policies and 
practices of common carriers that they are disputing. FCC Form 475 asks 
the complainants to provide contact information, including their 
address, telephone number, and e-mail address, and to briefly describe 
the complaint, including the common carrier against whom the complaint 
is lodged, the consumer's account number(s), the date(s) on which the 
incident(s) occurred, and the type of resolution the consumer is 
seeking. The Commission uses the information to resolve the consumer's 
informal complaint(s).
    The information on FCC Form 475 may also be used to assess the 
practices of common carriers as part of any investigative work 
performed by Federal

[[Page 53687]]

and State law enforcement agencies to monitor common carrier practices 
and to promote compliance with Federal and State requirements. The 
information may ultimately become the foundation for FCC enforcement 
actions and/or rulemaking proceedings, as appropriate. The Commission 
now intends to create a new, separate FCC form, described below, that 
will be used to collect complaint data regarding junk faxes, 
unsolicited e-mail messages, and telemarketing calls. Thus, the 
existing Form 475 will be amended slightly to reflect the fact that it 
will no longer be used for these types of complaints.
    FCC Form 475-B, Obscene, Profane, and Indecent Complaint Form, is 
used by consumers to lay out precisely their complaint(s) and issue(s) 
concerning the practices of the telecommunications entities, which 
consumers believe may have aired obscene, profane, and/or indecent 
programming. FCC Form 475-B will remain unchanged.

OMB Control Number: 3060-1088

    Title: Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer 
Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991, Report and Order and Third Order on 
Reconsideration, CG Docket No. 05-338, FCC 06-42.
    Form Number: FCC Form 1088.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit entities; Not-for-profit institutions.
    Number of Respondents: 5,000,000 (4 million facsimile advertisement 
senders + 1 million complainants, 100,000 of which will file complaints 
using proposed new form).
    Estimated Time per Response: 15 minutes.
    Frequency of Response: Annually, monthly, and on occasion reporting 
requirements; Recordkeeping; Third party disclosure.
    Total Annual Burden: 13,130,000 hours (13,080,000 hours for fax 
advertisement senders + 50,000 hours for complainants using proposed 
new form).
    Total Annual Cost: $60,000,000.
    Privacy Impact Assessment: Yes.
    Needs and Uses: On April 5, 2006, the Commission adopted a Report 
and Order and Third Order on Reconsideration, In the Matter of Rules 
and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 
1991; Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005, CG Docket Nos. 02-278 and 05-
338, FCC 06-42, which modified the Commission's facsimile advertising 
rules to implement the Junk Fax Prevention Act. The Report and Order 
and Third Order on Reconsideration contains information collection 
requirements: (1) Opt-out Notice and Do-Not-Fax Requests 
Recordkeeping--senders of unsolicited facsimile advertisements to 
include a notice on the first page that informs the recipient of the 
ability and means to request that they not receive future unsolicited 
facsimile advertisements from the sender; (2) Established Business 
Relationship Recordkeeping--the Junk Fax Prevention Act provides that 
the sender, e.g., a person, business, or a nonprofit/institution, is 
prohibited from faxing an unsolicited advertisement to a facsimile 
machine unless the sender has an ``established business relationship'' 
(EBR) with the recipient; (3) Facsimile Number Recordkeeping in which 
the Junk Fax Prevention Act provides that an EBR alone does not entitle 
a sender to fax an advertisement to an individual or business. The fax 
number must also be provided voluntarily by the recipient; and (4) 
Express Invitation or Permission Recordkeeping where, in the absence of 
an EBR, the sender must obtain the prior express invitation or 
permission from the consumer before sending the facsimile 
advertisement. Section 227 of the Communications Act of 1934, as 
amended, and the FCC's parallel rules restrict various telemarketing 
and advertising activities. The new Junk Fax/Telemarketing Form, FCC 
Form 1088, is designed specifically for complaints that involve: (1) 
Junk faxes, (2) telemarketing (including do-not-call violations), and 
(3) other related issues such as prerecorded messages, automatic 
telephone dialing systems, and unsolicited commercial e-mail messages 
to wireless telecommunications devices (cell phones, pagers). Upon the 
adoption of the TCPA rules, approximately 80,000 respondents utilized 
the Consumer Complaint Form 475 to file general complaints resulting in 
a total hourly annual burden of 40,000 hours. Based on these figures, 
the Commission estimates that 100,000 respondents would use the 
proposed new form, requiring 50,000 hours annually.
    FCC Form 1088 will allow the Commission to collect detailed 
information from consumers concerning possible violations of the 
Communications Act and the FCC's fax and telemarketing rules, which 
will enable the Commission to investigate rule violations more 
efficiently and to initiate enforcement actions against violators, as 
appropriate. By collecting their complaints and related information in 
a single, comprehensive template, the form will provide a standardized 
way for consumers to file complaints, reducing or eliminating the need 
for further documentation or questions from FCC investigators to 
determine whether violations have occurred. This ensures that consumers 
can present their complaints in a way that maximizes the FCC's ability 
to take enforcement actions against violators, protecting complainants 
and other consumers from unlawful telemarketing and faxing which is 
intrusive, uninvited, and possibly costly. Furthermore, the form's 
format avoids the need for complainants to compose narratives that 
describe unwanted telemarketing or faxing, and instead permits 
complainants to answer questions, principally by simply selecting 
options presented on the form, which should reduce the time to file a 
complaint. The form will allow the Commission to gather and to review 
this information more efficiently. The information the form collects 
may ultimately become the foundation for enforcement actions and/or 
rulemaking proceedings, as appropriate.
    FCC Form 1088 asks the complainant's contact information, including 
name, address, telephone number and e-mail address; then presents a 
``gateway'' question to determine the general topic of the complaint: 
(1) A fax; or (2) a call or message to a residential telephone, 
business telephone, emergency telephone or patient telephone, wireless 
telecommunications device, or any service for which the called party is 
charged. The form asks additional questions geared to the specific type 
of incident reported. The form poses certain mandatory threshold 
questions that must be answered for the Commission to determine whether 
a violation has occurred. It also presents optional questions for 
complainants who wish to provide the Commission with more detailed 
information that a complainant believes may assist the Commission in 
investigating the complaint. In short, complainants will only encounter 
those questions directly applicable to their self-selected issues, and 
only be required to answer a limited number of questions (typically, 
not more than 10) necessary to establish whether a violation has, in 
fact, occurred. No complainant will have to answer all questions. 
Finally, a complainant may attach documentation attesting to the 
accuracy of the information provided to the Commission. The Commission 
needs this documentation for any possible enforcement actions. The 
Commission believes the new form to be a logical

[[Page 53688]]

extension of its Junk Fax and Telemarketing rulemaking efforts.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-15194 Filed 9-11-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P