Telemarketing Sales Rule; Extension of Comment Period in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 52914-52915 [E9-24730]

Download as PDF 52914 Proposed Rules Federal Register Vol. 74, No. 198 Thursday, October 15, 2009 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION manner detailed in the SUPPLEMENTARY section below. INFORMATION FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allison Brown, Division of Financial Practices, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326-3224. On August 19, 2009, the Commission published an NPRM proposing amendments to the Telemarketing Sales Rule (16 CFR part 310) to address concerns about debt relief services. In that Notice, the Commission solicited comment regarding the proposed Rule and provided for a 60-day comment period. Thus, the comment period for the NPRM would close October 9, 2009. On September 17, 2009, U.S. Congressman Dan Burton sent a letter to FTC Chairman Jon D. Leibowitz requesting a 120-day extension of the comment period, and on October 2, 2009, U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions and nine other Members of Congress4 sent a letter to Chairman Leibowitz similarly requesting a 120-day extension of the comment period. In their letters, Congressman Burton and the other Members of Congress state that the NPRM involves issues that are important to many Members of Congress, who were unable to give the issues proper consideration due to the August recess and ensuing and pressing Congressional business. They also state that many members of the public will be unable to participate in the comment process given the current comment deadline. The Commission concludes that although an extension is warranted, an extension of 120 days is unnecessary to ensure that interested parties have an adequate opportunity to prepare and submit comments and would cause undue delay. In addition, the FTC staff is holding a public forum on November 4, 2009 to discuss the comments received on the proposed rule and allow members of the public to express views about the proposed rule. The public forum provides another opportunity to provide information to the Commission. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 16 CFR Part 310 Telemarketing Sales Rule; Extension of Comment Period in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with PROPOSALS-1 AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (‘‘Commission’’ or ‘‘FTC’’). ACTION: Extension of comment period. SUMMARY: In a Federal Register document announced on July 30, 2009,1 and published in the Federal Register on August 19, 2009 (‘‘Notice),2 the Federal Trade Commission requested comment on its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (‘‘NPRM’’) in connection with proposed debt relief amendments to the Telemarketing Sales Rule (‘‘TSR’’). The NPRM stated that comments must be received on or before October 9, 2009. In response to a request to extend the comment period received on September 17, 2009, the Commission has determined to extend the comment period until October 26, 2009. DATES: Written comments addressing the debt relief amendments to the TSR must be received on or before October 26, 2009. ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments electronically or in paper form. For important information concerning the comments you file, please review the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Comments in electronic form should be filed at the following electronic address: (https:// secure.commentworks.com/ftcTSRDebtRelief) (following the instructions on the web-based form). Comments in paper form should be mailed or delivered to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-135 (Annex T), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580, in the The Notice was announced in a press release on July 30, 2009, available at: (https://www.ftc.gov/ opa/2009/07/tsr.shtm). 2 74 FR 41988 (Aug. 19, 2009). 1 VerDate Nov<24>2008 15:05 Oct 14, 2009 Jkt 220001 4 The other signatories are Rep. John Sullivan, Rep. Steve Scalise, Rep. Lynne Westmoreland, Rep. Sam Johnson, Rep. Sue Myrick, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Rep. Mike Coffman, Rep. Tom Price, and Rep. Mary Fallin. PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 Requests to participate in the public forum are due on October 9, 2009.5 Accordingly, the Commission has decided to extend the comment period from October 9, 2009 to October 26, 2009. Interested parties are invited to submit written comments electronically or in paper form. Comments should refer to ‘‘Telemarketing Sales Rule Debt Relief Amendments, R411001’’ to facilitate the organization of comments. Please note that your comment— including your name and your state— will be placed on the public record of this proceeding, including on the publicly accessible FTC Website at (https://www.ftc.gov/os/ publiccomments.shtm). Because comments will be made public, they should not include any sensitive personal information, such as any individual’s: Social Security Number; date of birth; driver’s license number, other state identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number; financial account number; or credit or debit card number. Comments also should not include any sensitive health information, such as medical records or other individually identifiable health information. In addition, comments should not include any ‘‘[t]rade secret or any commercial or financial information which is obtained from any person and which is privileged orconfidential,’’ as provided in Section 6(f) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (‘‘FTC Act’’), 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2). Comments containing material for which confidential treatment is requested must be filed in paper form, must be clearly labeled ‘‘Confidential,’’ and must comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).6 Because paper mail addressed to the FTC is subject to delay due to heightened security screening, please consider submitting your comments in electronic form. Comments filed in electronic form should be submitted by using the following weblink: (https:// 5 Additional information about the public forum is available at (https://www1.ftc.gov/opa/2009/08/ tsrforum.shtm). 6 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 FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c). E:\FR\FM\15OCP1.SGM 15OCP1 erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with PROPOSALS-1 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 198 / Thursday, October 15, 2009 / Proposed Rules secure.commentworks.com/ftcTSRDebtRelief) (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 the weblink (https://secure.commentworks.com/ftcTSRDebtRelief). If this Notice appears at (https://www.regulations.gov/search/ Regs/home.html#home), you may also file an electronic comment through that website. The Commission will consider all comments that regulations.gov forwards to it. You may also visit the FTC website at (https://www.ftc.gov) to read the Notice and the news release describing it. A comment filed in paper form should include the ‘‘Telemarketing Sales Rule - Debt Relief Amendments R411001’’ reference 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 T), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580. The FTC requests that any comment filed in paper form be sent by courier or overnight service, if possible, to avoid security related delays. Comments on any proposed filing, recordkeeping, or disclosure requirements that are subject to paperwork burden review under the Paperwork Reduction Act should additionally be submitted to: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (‘‘OMB’’), Attention: Desk Officer for Federal Trade Commission. Comments should be submitted via facsimile to (202) 395-5167 because U.S. postal mail at the OMB is subject to delays due to heightened security precautions. The FTC Act and other laws 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, whether filed in paper or electronic form. Comments received will be available to the public on the FTC website, to the extent practicable, at (https://www.ftc.gov/os/ publiccomments.shtm). As a matter of discretion, the Commission 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 (https://www.ftc.gov/ftc/ privacy.shtm). VerDate Nov<24>2008 15:05 Oct 14, 2009 Jkt 220001 By direction of the Commission. Donald S. Clark, Secretary. [FR Doc. E9–24730 Filed 10–14–09: 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6750–01–S FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 16 CFR Part 610 RIN 3084-AA94 Free Annual File Disclosures Amendments to Rule to Prevent Deceptive Marketing of Credit Reports and to Ensure Access to Free Annual File Disclosures Federal Trade Commission. Notice of proposed rulemaking; request for comment. AGENCY: ACTION: SUMMARY: Section 205 of the Credit CARD Act of 2009 requires the Federal Trade Commission (‘‘FTC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’) to issue a rule by February 22, 2010, to prevent deceptive marketing of ‘‘free credit reports.’’To that end, the Commission proposes, and seeks comment on, amendments to the Commission’s Free Annual File Disclosures Rule, 16 CFR Part 610. The proposed amendments would require certain advertisements for ‘‘free credit reports’’ to include prominent disclosures designed to prevent consumers from confusing these ‘‘free’’ offers with the federally mandated free annual file disclosures available through the single centralized source. In addition, the Commission proposes amendments to delay advertisements for products and services through the centralized source until after the consumer receives his or her free annual file disclosure, and to prohibit other practices that may interfere with the free file disclosure process. Finally, the Commission proposes certain technical amendments to the Rule. DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 30, 2009. ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments electronically or in paper form, by following the instructions in the Request for Comments part of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Comments in electronic form should be submitted by using the following weblink: (https:// public.commentworks.com/ftc/ FreeCreditReportNPRM) (and following the instructions on the web-based form). Comments in paper form should be mailed or delivered to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-135 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 52915 (Annex T), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580, in the manner detailed in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katherine Armstrong, Attorney, or Steven Toporoff, Attorney, Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20580, (202) 3262252. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background In this Notice, the Commission is proposing to amend its Free Annual File Disclosures Rule (‘‘Free Reports Rule’’ or ‘‘Rule’’),1 which went into effect in 2004. This Rule sets out the procedures that nationwide consumer reporting agencies2 (‘‘CRAs’’) and nationwide specialty consumer reporting agencies3 must follow to comply with section 612 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (‘‘FCRA’’), which gives consumers the right to obtain free annual file disclosures from the nationwide CRAs through a single centralized source. The Commission’s proposed amendments implement the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (‘‘Act’’),4 which directs the Commission to promulgate a rule within nine months requiring certain disclosures in the advertising for ‘‘free credit reports’’ to reduce consumer confusion. The Commission also is proposing a number of changes to address certain practices that the Commission believes interfere with or detract from consumers’ ability to obtain their free annual file disclosures, as well as certain technical corrections described below. A. The Free Annual File Disclosures Rule The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (‘‘FACT Act’’) amended the FCRA and directed the Commission to promulgate a rule specifying the procedures for consumers 116 CFR Part 610. 603(p) of the FCRA defines a ‘‘nationwide consumer reporting agency’’ as a consumer reporting agency that compiles and maintains files on consumers on a nationwide basis. At this time, there are three nationwide consumer reporting agencies – Equifax Inc., Experian, and TransUnion LLC. 3Nationwide specialty consumer reporting agencies are defined in section 603(w) of the FCRA. Specifically, section 603(w) defines ‘‘nationwide specialty consumer reporting agency’’ as a CRA that compiles and maintains files on consumers on a nationwide basis relating to (1) medical records or payments; (2) residential or tenant history, (3) check writing history, (4) employment history, or (5) insurance claims. 4Pub. L. 111-24, 123 Stat. 1734 (May 22, 2009). 2Section E:\FR\FM\15OCP1.SGM 15OCP1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 198 (Thursday, October 15, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 52914-52915]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-24730]


========================================================================
Proposed Rules
                                                Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.

========================================================================


Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 198 / Thursday, October 15, 2009 / 
Proposed Rules

[[Page 52914]]



FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 310


Telemarketing Sales Rule; Extension of Comment Period in the 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (``Commission'' or ``FTC'').

ACTION:  Extension of comment period.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In a Federal Register document announced on July 30, 2009,\1\ 
and published in the Federal Register on August 19, 2009 (``Notice),\2\ 
the Federal Trade Commission requested comment on its Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking (``NPRM'') in connection with proposed debt relief 
amendments to the Telemarketing Sales Rule (``TSR''). The NPRM stated 
that comments must be received on or before October 9, 2009. In 
response to a request to extend the comment period received on 
September 17, 2009, the Commission has determined to extend the comment 
period until October 26, 2009.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ The Notice was announced in a press release on July 30, 
2009, available at: (https://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/07/tsr.shtm).
    \2\ 74 FR 41988 (Aug. 19, 2009).

DATES: Written comments addressing the debt relief amendments to the 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
TSR must be received on or before October 26, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments 
electronically or in paper form. For important information concerning 
the comments you file, please review the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section below. Comments in electronic form should be filed at the 
following electronic address: (https://secure.commentworks.com/ftc-TSRDebtRelief) (following the instructions on the web-based form). 
Comments in paper form should be mailed or delivered to the following 
address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-135 
(Annex T), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580, in the 
manner detailed in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allison Brown, Division of Financial 
Practices, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 600 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326-3224.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 19, 2009, the Commission published 
an NPRM proposing amendments to the Telemarketing Sales Rule (16 CFR 
part 310) to address concerns about debt relief services. In that 
Notice, the Commission solicited comment regarding the proposed Rule 
and provided for a 60-day comment period. Thus, the comment period for 
the NPRM would close October 9, 2009.
    On September 17, 2009, U.S. Congressman Dan Burton sent a letter to 
FTC Chairman Jon D. Leibowitz requesting a 120-day extension of the 
comment period, and on October 2, 2009, U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions 
and nine other Members of Congress\4\ sent a letter to Chairman 
Leibowitz similarly requesting a 120-day extension of the comment 
period. In their letters, Congressman Burton and the other Members of 
Congress state that the NPRM involves issues that are important to many 
Members of Congress, who were unable to give the issues proper 
consideration due to the August recess and ensuing and pressing 
Congressional business. They also state that many members of the public 
will be unable to participate in the comment process given the current 
comment deadline.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ The other signatories are Rep. John Sullivan, Rep. Steve 
Scalise, Rep. Lynne Westmoreland, Rep. Sam Johnson, Rep. Sue Myrick, 
Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Rep. Mike Coffman, Rep. Tom Price, and Rep. 
Mary Fallin.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Commission concludes that although an extension is warranted, 
an extension of 120 days is unnecessary to ensure that interested 
parties have an adequate opportunity to prepare and submit comments and 
would cause undue delay. In addition, the FTC staff is holding a public 
forum on November 4, 2009 to discuss the comments received on the 
proposed rule and allow members of the public to express views about 
the proposed rule. The public forum provides another opportunity to 
provide information to the Commission. Requests to participate in the 
public forum are due on October 9, 2009.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ Additional information about the public forum is available 
at (https://www1.ftc.gov/opa/2009/08/tsrforum.shtm).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Accordingly, the Commission has decided to extend the comment 
period from October 9, 2009 to October 26, 2009. Interested parties are 
invited to submit written comments electronically or in paper form. 
Comments should refer to ``Telemarketing Sales Rule - Debt Relief 
Amendments, R411001'' to facilitate the organization of comments. 
Please note that your comment--including your name and your state--will 
be placed on the public record of this proceeding, including on the 
publicly accessible FTC Website at (https://www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm).
    Because comments will be made public, they should not include any 
sensitive personal information, such as any individual's: Social 
Security Number; date of birth; driver's license number, other state 
identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number; 
financial account number; or credit or debit card number. Comments also 
should not include any sensitive health information, such as medical 
records or other individually identifiable health information. In 
addition, comments should not include any ``[t]rade secret or any 
commercial or financial information which is obtained from any person 
and which is privileged orconfidential,'' as provided in Section 6(f) 
of the Federal Trade Commission Act (``FTC Act''), 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and 
FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2). Comments containing material 
for which confidential treatment is requested must be filed in paper 
form, must be clearly labeled ``Confidential,'' and must comply with 
FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ 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 FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 
4.9(c).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Because paper mail addressed to the FTC is subject to delay due to 
heightened security screening, please consider submitting your comments 
in electronic form. Comments filed in electronic form should be 
submitted by using the following weblink: (https://

[[Page 52915]]

secure.commentworks.com/ftc-TSRDebtRelief) (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 the weblink (https://secure.commentworks.com/ftc-TSRDebtRelief). If 
this Notice appears at (https://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/
home.htmlhome), you may also file an electronic comment 
through that website. The Commission will consider all comments that 
regulations.gov forwards to it. You may also visit the FTC website at 
(https://www.ftc.gov) to read the Notice and the news release describing 
it.
    A comment filed in paper form should include the ``Telemarketing 
Sales Rule - Debt Relief Amendments - R411001'' reference 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 T), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 
20580. The FTC requests that any comment filed in paper form be sent by 
courier or overnight service, if possible, to avoid security related 
delays.
    Comments on any proposed filing, recordkeeping, or disclosure 
requirements that are subject to paperwork burden review under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act should additionally be submitted to: Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget 
(``OMB''), Attention: Desk Officer for Federal Trade Commission. 
Comments should be submitted via facsimile to (202) 395-5167 because 
U.S. postal mail at the OMB is subject to delays due to heightened 
security precautions.
    The FTC Act and other laws 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, whether filed in paper or electronic 
form. Comments received will be available to the public on the FTC 
website, to the extent practicable, at (https://www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm). As a matter of discretion, the Commission 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 (https://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.shtm).
    By direction of the Commission.

Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E9-24730 Filed 10-14-09: 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-S
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