Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records, 20141-20144 [2023-07028]
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 65 / Wednesday, April 5, 2023 / Notices
b. Select the ‘‘Edit’’ button; and
c. Change or add the email address to
receive email notifications for Office
communications entered in the
applications associated with the
Customer Number. The participant may
designate up to three email addresses.
The Patent Center system will send a
test email to each of the new email
addresses associated with the Customer
Number.
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10. Who should a participant contact if
an email notification for an Office
communication has not been received?
The participant should contact the
Patent EBC if an Office communication
is available in Patent Center but the
participant did not receive an email
notification for the Office
communication. The USPTO will take
appropriate corrective actions. For
example, the USPTO will send the
participant an email notification if an
email notification was not previously
sent to the designated email addresses.
Any time period for reply (except for the
63-day time period under 37 CFR 90.3)
set forth in the Office communication
will be restarted when the USPTO sends
the email notification. For more
information on the time period for
reply, see item 4 above.
However, if the USPTO did send an
email notification to each of the email
addresses designated by the user, the
USPTO will not send a new email
notification, and any time period for
reply set forth in the Office
communication will not be restarted.
The time period for reply will continue
to run from the original mailroom/
notification date. Therefore, it is
important for the user to designate the
correct email addresses when signing up
for the program.
11. Who should a participant contact if
an improper communication has been
scanned into the application?
The participant should contact the
Patent EBC if an improper
communication has been scanned into
the application file, so that the USPTO
can take appropriate corrective actions.
For example, if the improper
communication belongs to another
application, the USPTO will move the
communication to the correct
application. The USPTO will send a
new email notification when a proper
communication is available and
retrievable through Patent Center.
Please note that the document code
corresponding to an Office
communication identified on the email
notification is informal (unofficial)
information. If there is any discrepancy
between the document code
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corresponding to an Office
communication identified on the email
notification and the document code
corresponding to the image of the
communication available through Patent
Center, the document code
corresponding to the image of the Office
communication available through Patent
Center is the official record. The USPTO
will not send a new email notification
for an incorrect document code on the
email notification.
If an Office communication contains
an error that affects an applicant’s
ability to reply to the Office
communication and this error is called
to the attention of the USPTO in writing
within one month of the email date, the
USPTO will follow the procedure set
forth in section 710.06 of the Manual of
Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP)
(9th ed., rev. 7.2022, February 2023).
12. Who should the participant contact
if the date of the email notification is a
few days later than the mailroom/
notification date?
If the Office communication (e.g., an
application filing receipt or a notice of
publication) does not require a reply
from an applicant and it does not have
a time period for reply, it is not
necessary for the participant to contact
the Office. However, if the Office
communication requires a reply and it
sets forth a time period for reply, the
participant should call the Patent EBC
within one month from the email date
so the USPTO can reset the time period
for reply (except for the 63-day period
under 37 CFR 90.3) to the original email
date. For more information on the time
period for reply, see item 4 above.
For example, an email notification
sent on October 6, 2022, could indicate
that an Office action with a mailroom/
notification date of October 3, 2022, has
been entered in the application. The
time period for reply set forth in the
Office action commences on the
mailroom/notification date (October 3,
2022). If the participant contacts the
Patent EBC within one month from the
email date (October 6, 2022), the USPTO
will reset the time period for reply to
commence on October 6, 2022.
13. How can a participant identify the
email notification sent from the Office?
The email notification will have the
following language in the subject line:
‘‘USPTO: Patent Electronic System—
Correspondence Notification for
Customer Number xxx.,’’ where ‘‘xxx’’
will be the participant’s Customer
Number. The sender’s address will be
‘‘noreply@uspto.gov.’’ Any inquiries
regarding the email notification should
be directed to the Patent EBC.
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Participants should not reply to the
‘‘noreply’’ email address.
14. Does the Patent Center e-Office
Action program change the policy for
communications via the internet?
By registering for the Patent Center eOffice Action program, a participant is
authorizing the USPTO to send email
notifications of Office communications
entered by the participating USPTO
business units in the applications
associated with the Customer Number.
The Patent Center e-Office Action
program does not, otherwise, change the
policy for communications via the
internet as set forth in section 502.03 of
the MPEP.
The Patent Center e-Office Action
program does not alter the USPTO’s
policy prohibiting an applicant or
examiner from engaging in improper
email correspondence. For example, the
applicant may not send a reply to an
Office action to the USPTO via email,
and the examiner may not send an
Office action to the applicant via email.
See section 502.03 of the MPEP.
Katherine K. Vidal,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual
Property and Director of the United States
Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2023–07087 Filed 4–4–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–16–P
COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING
COMMISSION
Privacy Act of 1974; System of
Records
Commodity Futures Trading
Commission.
ACTION: Notice of a modified system of
records.
AGENCY:
This system includes records
relevant to investigations conducted by
the Office of the Inspector General
(OIG), including but not limited to
information regarding individuals who
are part of an investigation or allegation
pertaining to fraud and abuse
concerning Commodity Futures Trading
Commission (CFTC or Commission)
programs and operations, internal staff
memoranda, copies of all subpoenas
issued during the investigation,
affidavits, witness statements, and
transcripts of testimony.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before May 5, 2023. New routine uses
will go into effect on May 5, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
identified as pertaining to ‘‘Office of the
Inspector General Investigative Files’’ by
any of the following methods:
SUMMARY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 65 / Wednesday, April 5, 2023 / Notices
• CFTC Comments Portal: https://
comments.cftc.gov. Select the ‘‘Submit
Comments’’ link for this notice and
follow the instructions on the Public
Comment Form.
• Mail: Send to Christopher
Kirkpatrick, Secretary of the
Commission, Commodity Futures
Trading Commission, Three Lafayette
Centre, 1155 21st Street NW,
Washington, DC 20581.
• Hand Delivery/Courier: Follow the
same instructions as for Mail, above.
Please submit your comments using
only one of these methods. Submissions
through the CFTC Comments Portal are
encouraged.
All comments must be submitted in
English, or if not, be accompanied by an
English translation. Comments will be
posted as received to comments.cftc.gov.
You should submit only information
that you wish to make available
publicly.
The Commission reserves the right,
but shall have no obligation, to review,
pre-screen, filter, redact, refuse, or
remove any or all of a submission from
comments.cftc.gov that it may deem to
be inappropriate for publication, such as
obscene language. All submissions that
have been redacted or removed that
contain comments on the merits of this
notice will be retained in the comment
file and will be considered as required
under all applicable laws, and may be
accessible under the Freedom of
Information Act.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Marcela Souaya, (202) 418–5137,
privacy@cftc.gov, Office of the General
Counsel, Commodity Futures Trading
Commission, Three Lafayette Centre,
1155 21st Street NW, Washington, DC
20581.
This
modification updates the routine uses
for this system, rescinding the
inheritance of the Commission’s
‘‘blanket routine uses’’ last published on
March 14, 2001 at 76 FR 5973 and
incorporates the routine uses that apply
to the records maintained in CFTC–32.
This modification updates and clarifies
the Privacy Act exemptions
promulgated for this system, and also
makes conforming changes to align with
format requirements in OMB Circular
A–108, Federal Agency Responsibilities
for Review, Reporting, and Publication
under the Privacy Act.
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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
Office of the Inspector General
Investigative Files; CFTC–32.
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
Unclassified.
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SYSTEM LOCATION:
Office of the Inspector General,
Commodity Futures Trading
Commission, Three Lafayette Centre,
1155 21st Street NW, Washington, DC
20581. The system will be hosted on a
cloud and data center computing
infrastructure. Duplicate versions of
some or all system information may be
at satellite locations where the CFTC
has granted direct access to support
CFTC operations, system backup,
emergency preparedness, and/or
continuity of operations.
SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
Inspector General, Office of the
Inspector General, Commodity Futures
Trading Commission, Three Lafayette
Centre, 1155 21st Street NW,
Washington, DC 20581, OIG@cftc.gov.
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
Commodity Exchange Act, 7 U.S.C. 1
et seq., and regulations, rules or orders
issued thereunder; Public Law 95–452,
as amended, 5 U.S.C. app. 3.
PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
The purpose of this system is to
enable the Office of the Inspector
General to effectively and efficiently
intake allegations and conduct
investigations relating to the programs
and operations of the CFTC.
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE
SYSTEM:
Individuals who are part of an
allegation or investigation of fraud and
abuse concerning Commission programs
or operations.
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
This system includes all allegations,
all correspondence relevant to the
investigation; all internal staff
memoranda, copies of all subpoenas
issued during the investigation,
affidavits, statement from witnesses,
transcripts of testimony taken in the
investigation and accompanying
exhibits; documents and records or
copies obtained during the
investigation; incoming allegations and
allegation development, opening
reports, progress reports and closing
reports; records documenting allegation
and investigation file status.
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
Information in these records is
supplied by: Individuals including,
where practicable, those to whom the
information relates; witnesses,
corporations and other entities; records
of individuals and of the Commission;
records of other entities; Federal,
foreign, State or local bodies and law
enforcement agencies; documents,
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correspondence relating to litigation,
and transcripts of testimony;
miscellaneous other sources including
other nongovernmental sources and
open source intelligence, including
web-based communities, user-generated
content, social-networking sites, wikis,
blogs and news sources maintained on
the Surface, Deep, and Dark web. The
Surface Web is what users access in
their regular day-to-day activity. It is
available to the general public using
standard search engines and can be
accessed using standard web browsers
that do not require any special
configuration. The Deep Web is the
portion of the web that is not indexed
or searchable by ordinary search
engines. The Dark Web is a less
accessible subset of the Deep Web that
relies on connections made between
trusted peers and requires specialized
software, tools, or equipment to access.
ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE
SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND
THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
These records and information in
these records may be disclosed:
1. The information may be given or
shown to any person or entity during
the course of an Office of the Inspector
General (OIG) audit or audit activity
(audit) if there is reason to believe that
disclosure to the person or entity will
further the audit.
2. To the Department of Justice or
other federal entity, the Merit Systems
Protection Board, the Office of Special
Counsel, or in a proceeding before a
court, adjudicative body, or other
administrative body before which the
agency is authorized to appear, or in the
course of civil discovery, litigation, or
settlement negotiations, in actions
authorized under the Commodity
Exchange Act and otherwise authorized,
when:
a. The agency, or any component
thereof; or
b. Any employee of the agency in his
or her official capacity; or
c. Any employee of the agency in his
or her personal capacity where the
Department of Justice or the agency has
agreed to represent the employee; or
d. The United States, when the
litigation is likely to affect the CFTC or
any of its components; is a party to
litigation or has an interest in such
litigation, and the use of such records by
the Department of Justice or the agency
is deemed to be relevant and necessary
to the litigation.
3. To a federal, state, local, tribal,
foreign, or international agency in
response to its request for information
concerning the hiring or retention of an
employee; the issuance of a security
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clearance; the reporting of an
investigation of an employee; the letting
of a contract; or the issuance of a
license, or other benefit by the
requesting agency, to the extent that the
information is relevant and necessary to
the requesting agency’s decision on the
matter.
4. To a federal, state, local, tribal,
foreign, or international agency, if
necessary to obtain information relevant
to the CFTC’s decision concerning the
hiring or retention of an employee; the
issuance of a security clearance; the
letting of a contract; or the issuance of
a license, or other benefit.
5. In any case in which records in the
system, either alone or in conjunction
with other information, indicates a
violation or potential violation of law,
whether civil, criminal or regulatory in
nature, whether arising by general
statute or particular program statute, or
by regulation, rule or order issued
pursuant thereto, the relevant records
may be referred to the appropriate
agency, whether Federal, foreign, State
or local, charged with enforcing or
implementing the statute, regulation,
rule or order. This includes a state or
federal bar association, state
accountancy board, or other federal,
state, local, or foreign licensing or
oversight authority; or professional
association or self-regulatory authority
to the extent that it performs similar
functions (including the Public
Company Accounting Oversight Board)
for investigations or possible
disciplinary action, including
suspension and debarment.
6. To contractors, performing or
working on a contract for the Federal
government when necessary to
accomplish an agency function.
7. To the Office of Government Ethics
to comply with agency reporting
requirements under the law, including 5
CFR part 2638, subpart F.
8. To a grand jury agent pursuant
either to a Federal or State grand jury
subpoena, or to a prosecution request
that such record be released for the
purpose of its introduction to a grand
jury, provided that the grand jury
channels its request through the
cognizant U.S. Attorney, that the U.S.
Attorney has been delegated the
authority to make such requests by the
Attorney General, and that the U.S.
Attorney actually signs the letter
specifying both the information sought
and the law enforcement purpose
served. In the case of a State grand jury
subpoena, the State equivalent of the
U.S. Attorney and Attorney General
shall be substituted.
9. To a Federal agency in response to
a subpoena issued by the Federal agency
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having the power to subpoena records of
other Federal agencies, provided the
subpoena is channeled through the head
of the issuing agency, if the OIG
determines that: (a) The head of the
issuing agency signed the subpoena; (b)
the subpoena specifies the information
sought and the law enforcement
purpose served; (c) the records are both
relevant and necessary to the
proceeding; and (d) such release is
compatible with the purpose for which
the records were collected.
10. To the Department of Justice for
the purpose of obtaining its advice on
an OIG investigation, or other related
inquiry, including Freedom of
Information or Privacy Act matters
relating to information in this record
system.
11. To the extent authorized or
required by law, information contained
in this system of records may be
disclosed to complainants, witnesses,
victims, and/or individuals with
relevant information (including
experts), to the extent that it will not
interfere with the investigation.
12. To any official charged with the
responsibility to conduct investigations,
qualitative assessment reviews, or peer
reviews of investigative operations
within the Office of the Inspector
General. This disclosure category
includes members of the Council of the
Inspectors General on Integrity and
Efficiency or any successor entity and
officials, designees, and administrative
staff within their chain of command, as
well as authorized officials of the
Department of Justice and the Federal
Bureau of Investigation.
13. To the news media and general
public where there exists a legitimate
public interest, e.g., to assist in the
location of fugitives, to provide
notification of arrests, where necessary
for protection from imminent threat of
life or property, or in accordance with
guidelines set out by the Department of
Justice.
14. To the Department of Justice as
required by law pertaining to
government-wide, uniform crime
reporting.
15. To appropriate agencies, entities,
and persons when (1) the Commission
suspects or has confirmed that there has
been a breach of the system of records,
(2) the Commission has determined that
as a result of the suspected or confirmed
breach there is a risk of harm to
individuals, the Commission (including
its information systems, programs, and
operations), the Federal Government, or
national security; and (3) the disclosure
made to such agencies, entities, and
persons is reasonably necessary to assist
in connection with the Commission’s
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20143
efforts to respond to the suspected or
confirmed breach or to prevent,
minimize, or remedy such harm.
16. To another Federal agency or
Federal entity, when the Commission
determines that information from this
system of records is reasonably
necessary to assist the recipient agency
or entity in (1) responding to a
suspected or confirmed breach or (2)
preventing, minimizing, or remedying
the risk of harm to Individuals, the
recipient agency or entity (including its
information systems, programs, and
operations), the Federal Government, or
national security, resulting from a
suspected or confirmed breach.
17. Information may be disclosed to
the National Archives and Records
Administration to the extent necessary
to fulfill its responsibilities under the
law relating to these records.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF
RECORDS:
Records are stored in this system
electronically or on paper in secure
facilities.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF
RECORDS:
Investigative files are retrieved by the
subject matter of the investigation,
individual investigated, or by case file
number.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND
DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
The Office of the Inspector General
temporary Investigative Files and the
index to the files are destroyed 10 years
after the case is closed. Investigations
that involve, as subjects, the Chairman,
Commissioners, Division Directors, or
Office Heads; or result in substantive
changes in agency policy; or draw
significant public interest as reflected in
widespread news media attention,
Congressional interest, and/or market
participant inquiries are considered
permanent records and forwarded to the
National Archives 15 years after the case
is closed.
ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL
SAFEGUARDS:
Administrative safeguards include
restricting access to the OIG work area,
and restricting relevant investigative
tasks to only those competent or
qualified to perform the work. In
addition, all users take annual security
and privacy, and records management
training. Technical security measures
within CFTC include restrictions on
computer access to authorized
individuals who have a legitimate need
to know the information; required use of
strong passwords; multi-factor
authentication for access to some CFTC
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network components; use of encryption
for certain data types and transfers;
firewalls and intrusion detection
applications; and regular review of
security procedures and best practices
to enhance security. Physical safeguards
include restrictions on building access
to authorized individuals, 24-hour
security guard service, and maintenance
of records in lockable offices and filing
cabinets.
RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
Individuals seeking to determine
whether this system of records contains
information about themselves or seeking
access to records about themselves in
this system of records should address
written inquiries to the Office of the
General Counsel, Commodity Futures
Trading Commission, Three Lafayette
Centre, 1155 21st Street NW,
Washington, DC 20581. See 17 CFR
146.3 for full details on what to include
in a Privacy Act access request.
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
Individuals contesting the content of
records about themselves contained in
this system of records should address
written inquiries to the Office of the
General Counsel, Commodity Futures
Trading Commission, Three Lafayette
Centre, 1155 21st Street NW,
Washington, DC 20581. See 17 CFR
146.8 for full details on what to include
in a Privacy Act amendment request.
entitled by Federal law, or for which he
would otherwise be eligible, as a result
of the maintenance of such material,
such material shall be provided to such
individual, except to the extent that the
disclosure of such material would reveal
the identity of a source who furnished
information to the Government under an
express promise that the identity of the
source would be held in confidence, or,
prior to the effective date of this section,
under an implied promise that the
identity of the source would be held in
confidence. Moreover, these exemptions
apply only to the extent that
information in this system is subject to
exemption pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a
(j)(2) or (k)(2). Where compliance would
not appear to interfere with or adversely
affect the law enforcement process, and/
or where it may be appropriate to permit
individuals to contest the accuracy of
the information collected, e.g., public
source materials, the applicable
exemption may be waived, either
partially or totally, by the Office of the
Inspector General (OIG). These
exemptions are contained at 17 CFR
146.13.
HISTORY:
76 FR 5973.
Issued in Washington, DC, on March 30,
2023, by the Commission.
Christopher Kirkpatrick,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2023–07028 Filed 4–4–23; 8:45 am]
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
BILLING CODE 6351–01–P
Individuals seeking notification of
any records about themselves contained
in this system of records should address
written inquiries to the Office of the
General Counsel, Commodity Futures
Trading Commission, Three Lafayette
Centre, 1155 21st Street NW,
Washington, DC 20581. See 17 CFR
146.3 for full details on what to include
in a Privacy Act notification request.
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EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
Under 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2), this system
of records is exempted from 5 U.S.C.
522a except subsections (b); (c)(1), and
(2); (e)(4)(A) through (F); (e)(6), (7), (9),
(10), and (11); and (i) to the extent the
system of records pertains to the
enforcement of criminal laws; and
under 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2) is exempted
from 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3); (d); (e)(1);
(e)(4)(G), (H), and (I); and (f) to the
extent the system of records consists of
investigatory material compiled for law
enforcement purposes, other than
material within the scope of the
exemption at 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2);
provided, however, that if any
individual is denied any right, privilege,
or benefit that he would otherwise be
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COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING
COMMISSION
Privacy Act of 1974; System of
Records
Commodity Futures Trading
Commission.
ACTION: Notice of a new system of
records.
AGENCY:
The Commodity Futures
Trading Commission (CFTC or
Commission) is establishing a new
system of records, CFTC–56, Office of
the Inspector General Audit Files, to
account for information maintained
about individuals that is included in
Office of the Inspector General (OIG)
audit files.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before May 5, 2023. Routine uses will
go into effect on May 5, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
by any of the following methods:
• CFTC Comments Portal: https://
comments.cftc.gov. Select the ‘‘Submit
Comments’’ link for this notice and
SUMMARY:
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follow the instructions on the Public
Comment Form.
• Mail: Send to Christopher
Kirkpatrick, Secretary of the
Commission, Commodity Futures
Trading Commission, Three Lafayette
Centre, 1155 21st Street NW,
Washington, DC 20581.
• Hand Delivery/Courier: Follow the
same instructions as for Mail, above.
Please submit your comments using
only one of these methods. Submissions
through the CFTC Comments Portal are
encouraged.
All comments must be submitted in
English, or if not, be accompanied by an
English translation. Comments will be
posted as received to comments.cftc.gov.
You should submit only information
that you wish to make available
publicly.
The Commission reserves the right,
but shall have no obligation, to review,
pre-screen, filter, redact, refuse, or
remove any or all of a submission from
comments.cftc.gov that it may deem to
be inappropriate for publication, such as
obscene language. All submissions that
have been redacted or removed that
contain comments on the merits of this
notice will be retained in the comment
file and will be considered as required
under all applicable laws, and may be
accessible under the Freedom of
Information Act.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Marcela Souaya, (202) 418–5137,
privacy@cftc.gov, Office of the General
Counsel, Commodity Futures Trading
Commission, Three Lafayette Centre,
1155 21st Street NW, Washington, DC
20581.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background information is not
applicable since this is a new SORN.
SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
Office of the Inspector General Audit
Files; CFTC–56.
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
Unclassified.
SYSTEM LOCATION:
Office of the Inspector General,
Commodity Futures Trading
Commission, Three Lafayette Centre,
1155 21st Street, NW, Washington, DC
20581. The system will be hosted on a
cloud and data center computing
infrastructure. Duplicate versions of
some or all system information may be
at satellite locations where the CFTC
has granted direct access to support
CFTC operations, system backup,
emergency preparedness, and/or
continuity of operations.
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 5, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20141-20144]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07028]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION
Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records
AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
ACTION: Notice of a modified system of records.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This system includes records relevant to investigations
conducted by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), including but
not limited to information regarding individuals who are part of an
investigation or allegation pertaining to fraud and abuse concerning
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) programs and
operations, internal staff memoranda, copies of all subpoenas issued
during the investigation, affidavits, witness statements, and
transcripts of testimony.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 5, 2023. New routine
uses will go into effect on May 5, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified as pertaining to ``Office
of the Inspector General Investigative Files'' by any of the following
methods:
[[Page 20142]]
CFTC Comments Portal: https://comments.cftc.gov. Select
the ``Submit Comments'' link for this notice and follow the
instructions on the Public Comment Form.
Mail: Send to Christopher Kirkpatrick, Secretary of the
Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Three Lafayette
Centre, 1155 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20581.
Hand Delivery/Courier: Follow the same instructions as for
Mail, above. Please submit your comments using only one of these
methods. Submissions through the CFTC Comments Portal are encouraged.
All comments must be submitted in English, or if not, be
accompanied by an English translation. Comments will be posted as
received to comments.cftc.gov. You should submit only information that
you wish to make available publicly.
The Commission reserves the right, but shall have no obligation, to
review, pre-screen, filter, redact, refuse, or remove any or all of a
submission from comments.cftc.gov that it may deem to be inappropriate
for publication, such as obscene language. All submissions that have
been redacted or removed that contain comments on the merits of this
notice will be retained in the comment file and will be considered as
required under all applicable laws, and may be accessible under the
Freedom of Information Act.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marcela Souaya, (202) 418-5137,
[email protected], Office of the General Counsel, Commodity Futures
Trading Commission, Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street NW,
Washington, DC 20581.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This modification updates the routine uses
for this system, rescinding the inheritance of the Commission's
``blanket routine uses'' last published on March 14, 2001 at 76 FR 5973
and incorporates the routine uses that apply to the records maintained
in CFTC-32. This modification updates and clarifies the Privacy Act
exemptions promulgated for this system, and also makes conforming
changes to align with format requirements in OMB Circular A-108,
Federal Agency Responsibilities for Review, Reporting, and Publication
under the Privacy Act.
SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
Office of the Inspector General Investigative Files; CFTC-32.
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
Unclassified.
SYSTEM LOCATION:
Office of the Inspector General, Commodity Futures Trading
Commission, Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street NW, Washington, DC
20581. The system will be hosted on a cloud and data center computing
infrastructure. Duplicate versions of some or all system information
may be at satellite locations where the CFTC has granted direct access
to support CFTC operations, system backup, emergency preparedness, and/
or continuity of operations.
SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
Inspector General, Office of the Inspector General, Commodity
Futures Trading Commission, Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street
NW, Washington, DC 20581, [email protected].
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
Commodity Exchange Act, 7 U.S.C. 1 et seq., and regulations, rules
or orders issued thereunder; Public Law 95-452, as amended, 5 U.S.C.
app. 3.
PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
The purpose of this system is to enable the Office of the Inspector
General to effectively and efficiently intake allegations and conduct
investigations relating to the programs and operations of the CFTC.
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
Individuals who are part of an allegation or investigation of fraud
and abuse concerning Commission programs or operations.
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
This system includes all allegations, all correspondence relevant
to the investigation; all internal staff memoranda, copies of all
subpoenas issued during the investigation, affidavits, statement from
witnesses, transcripts of testimony taken in the investigation and
accompanying exhibits; documents and records or copies obtained during
the investigation; incoming allegations and allegation development,
opening reports, progress reports and closing reports; records
documenting allegation and investigation file status.
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
Information in these records is supplied by: Individuals including,
where practicable, those to whom the information relates; witnesses,
corporations and other entities; records of individuals and of the
Commission; records of other entities; Federal, foreign, State or local
bodies and law enforcement agencies; documents, correspondence relating
to litigation, and transcripts of testimony; miscellaneous other
sources including other nongovernmental sources and open source
intelligence, including web-based communities, user-generated content,
social-networking sites, wikis, blogs and news sources maintained on
the Surface, Deep, and Dark web. The Surface Web is what users access
in their regular day-to-day activity. It is available to the general
public using standard search engines and can be accessed using standard
web browsers that do not require any special configuration. The Deep
Web is the portion of the web that is not indexed or searchable by
ordinary search engines. The Dark Web is a less accessible subset of
the Deep Web that relies on connections made between trusted peers and
requires specialized software, tools, or equipment to access.
ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
These records and information in these records may be disclosed:
1. The information may be given or shown to any person or entity
during the course of an Office of the Inspector General (OIG) audit or
audit activity (audit) if there is reason to believe that disclosure to
the person or entity will further the audit.
2. To the Department of Justice or other federal entity, the Merit
Systems Protection Board, the Office of Special Counsel, or in a
proceeding before a court, adjudicative body, or other administrative
body before which the agency is authorized to appear, or in the course
of civil discovery, litigation, or settlement negotiations, in actions
authorized under the Commodity Exchange Act and otherwise authorized,
when:
a. The agency, or any component thereof; or
b. Any employee of the agency in his or her official capacity; or
c. Any employee of the agency in his or her personal capacity where
the Department of Justice or the agency has agreed to represent the
employee; or
d. The United States, when the litigation is likely to affect the
CFTC or any of its components; is a party to litigation or has an
interest in such litigation, and the use of such records by the
Department of Justice or the agency is deemed to be relevant and
necessary to the litigation.
3. To a federal, state, local, tribal, foreign, or international
agency in response to its request for information concerning the hiring
or retention of an employee; the issuance of a security
[[Page 20143]]
clearance; the reporting of an investigation of an employee; the
letting of a contract; or the issuance of a license, or other benefit
by the requesting agency, to the extent that the information is
relevant and necessary to the requesting agency's decision on the
matter.
4. To a federal, state, local, tribal, foreign, or international
agency, if necessary to obtain information relevant to the CFTC's
decision concerning the hiring or retention of an employee; the
issuance of a security clearance; the letting of a contract; or the
issuance of a license, or other benefit.
5. In any case in which records in the system, either alone or in
conjunction with other information, indicates a violation or potential
violation of law, whether civil, criminal or regulatory in nature,
whether arising by general statute or particular program statute, or by
regulation, rule or order issued pursuant thereto, the relevant records
may be referred to the appropriate agency, whether Federal, foreign,
State or local, charged with enforcing or implementing the statute,
regulation, rule or order. This includes a state or federal bar
association, state accountancy board, or other federal, state, local,
or foreign licensing or oversight authority; or professional
association or self-regulatory authority to the extent that it performs
similar functions (including the Public Company Accounting Oversight
Board) for investigations or possible disciplinary action, including
suspension and debarment.
6. To contractors, performing or working on a contract for the
Federal government when necessary to accomplish an agency function.
7. To the Office of Government Ethics to comply with agency
reporting requirements under the law, including 5 CFR part 2638,
subpart F.
8. To a grand jury agent pursuant either to a Federal or State
grand jury subpoena, or to a prosecution request that such record be
released for the purpose of its introduction to a grand jury, provided
that the grand jury channels its request through the cognizant U.S.
Attorney, that the U.S. Attorney has been delegated the authority to
make such requests by the Attorney General, and that the U.S. Attorney
actually signs the letter specifying both the information sought and
the law enforcement purpose served. In the case of a State grand jury
subpoena, the State equivalent of the U.S. Attorney and Attorney
General shall be substituted.
9. To a Federal agency in response to a subpoena issued by the
Federal agency having the power to subpoena records of other Federal
agencies, provided the subpoena is channeled through the head of the
issuing agency, if the OIG determines that: (a) The head of the issuing
agency signed the subpoena; (b) the subpoena specifies the information
sought and the law enforcement purpose served; (c) the records are both
relevant and necessary to the proceeding; and (d) such release is
compatible with the purpose for which the records were collected.
10. To the Department of Justice for the purpose of obtaining its
advice on an OIG investigation, or other related inquiry, including
Freedom of Information or Privacy Act matters relating to information
in this record system.
11. To the extent authorized or required by law, information
contained in this system of records may be disclosed to complainants,
witnesses, victims, and/or individuals with relevant information
(including experts), to the extent that it will not interfere with the
investigation.
12. To any official charged with the responsibility to conduct
investigations, qualitative assessment reviews, or peer reviews of
investigative operations within the Office of the Inspector General.
This disclosure category includes members of the Council of the
Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency or any successor entity
and officials, designees, and administrative staff within their chain
of command, as well as authorized officials of the Department of
Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
13. To the news media and general public where there exists a
legitimate public interest, e.g., to assist in the location of
fugitives, to provide notification of arrests, where necessary for
protection from imminent threat of life or property, or in accordance
with guidelines set out by the Department of Justice.
14. To the Department of Justice as required by law pertaining to
government-wide, uniform crime reporting.
15. To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when (1) the
Commission suspects or has confirmed that there has been a breach of
the system of records, (2) the Commission has determined that as a
result of the suspected or confirmed breach there is a risk of harm to
individuals, the Commission (including its information systems,
programs, and operations), the Federal Government, or national
security; and (3) the disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and
persons is reasonably necessary to assist in connection with the
Commission's efforts to respond to the suspected or confirmed breach or
to prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm.
16. To another Federal agency or Federal entity, when the
Commission determines that information from this system of records is
reasonably necessary to assist the recipient agency or entity in (1)
responding to a suspected or confirmed breach or (2) preventing,
minimizing, or remedying the risk of harm to Individuals, the recipient
agency or entity (including its information systems, programs, and
operations), the Federal Government, or national security, resulting
from a suspected or confirmed breach.
17. Information may be disclosed to the National Archives and
Records Administration to the extent necessary to fulfill its
responsibilities under the law relating to these records.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
Records are stored in this system electronically or on paper in
secure facilities.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
Investigative files are retrieved by the subject matter of the
investigation, individual investigated, or by case file number.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
The Office of the Inspector General temporary Investigative Files
and the index to the files are destroyed 10 years after the case is
closed. Investigations that involve, as subjects, the Chairman,
Commissioners, Division Directors, or Office Heads; or result in
substantive changes in agency policy; or draw significant public
interest as reflected in widespread news media attention, Congressional
interest, and/or market participant inquiries are considered permanent
records and forwarded to the National Archives 15 years after the case
is closed.
ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
Administrative safeguards include restricting access to the OIG
work area, and restricting relevant investigative tasks to only those
competent or qualified to perform the work. In addition, all users take
annual security and privacy, and records management training. Technical
security measures within CFTC include restrictions on computer access
to authorized individuals who have a legitimate need to know the
information; required use of strong passwords; multi-factor
authentication for access to some CFTC
[[Page 20144]]
network components; use of encryption for certain data types and
transfers; firewalls and intrusion detection applications; and regular
review of security procedures and best practices to enhance security.
Physical safeguards include restrictions on building access to
authorized individuals, 24-hour security guard service, and maintenance
of records in lockable offices and filing cabinets.
RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
Individuals seeking to determine whether this system of records
contains information about themselves or seeking access to records
about themselves in this system of records should address written
inquiries to the Office of the General Counsel, Commodity Futures
Trading Commission, Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street NW,
Washington, DC 20581. See 17 CFR 146.3 for full details on what to
include in a Privacy Act access request.
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
Individuals contesting the content of records about themselves
contained in this system of records should address written inquiries to
the Office of the General Counsel, Commodity Futures Trading
Commission, Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street NW, Washington, DC
20581. See 17 CFR 146.8 for full details on what to include in a
Privacy Act amendment request.
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
Individuals seeking notification of any records about themselves
contained in this system of records should address written inquiries to
the Office of the General Counsel, Commodity Futures Trading
Commission, Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street NW, Washington, DC
20581. See 17 CFR 146.3 for full details on what to include in a
Privacy Act notification request.
EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
Under 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2), this system of records is exempted from
5 U.S.C. 522a except subsections (b); (c)(1), and (2); (e)(4)(A)
through (F); (e)(6), (7), (9), (10), and (11); and (i) to the extent
the system of records pertains to the enforcement of criminal laws; and
under 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2) is exempted from 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3); (d);
(e)(1); (e)(4)(G), (H), and (I); and (f) to the extent the system of
records consists of investigatory material compiled for law enforcement
purposes, other than material within the scope of the exemption at 5
U.S.C. 552a(j)(2); provided, however, that if any individual is denied
any right, privilege, or benefit that he would otherwise be entitled by
Federal law, or for which he would otherwise be eligible, as a result
of the maintenance of such material, such material shall be provided to
such individual, except to the extent that the disclosure of such
material would reveal the identity of a source who furnished
information to the Government under an express promise that the
identity of the source would be held in confidence, or, prior to the
effective date of this section, under an implied promise that the
identity of the source would be held in confidence. Moreover, these
exemptions apply only to the extent that information in this system is
subject to exemption pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a (j)(2) or (k)(2). Where
compliance would not appear to interfere with or adversely affect the
law enforcement process, and/or where it may be appropriate to permit
individuals to contest the accuracy of the information collected, e.g.,
public source materials, the applicable exemption may be waived, either
partially or totally, by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG).
These exemptions are contained at 17 CFR 146.13.
HISTORY:
76 FR 5973.
Issued in Washington, DC, on March 30, 2023, by the Commission.
Christopher Kirkpatrick,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2023-07028 Filed 4-4-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6351-01-P