Proposed Rule2024-21278
Privacy Act Exemptions
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Published
September 19, 2024
Issuing agencies
Treasury Department
Abstract
In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (Privacy Act), the Department of the Treasury (Treasury), Departmental Offices gives notice of a proposed exemption for a new system of records entitled "Department of the Treasury, Departmental Offices .413--Outbound Investment Security Program Notification System" from certain provisions of the Privacy Act. The Outbound Investment Security Program Notification System is being established for information collected in connection with the implementation of the Executive order of August 9, 2023. The exemption is intended to comply with the legal prohibitions against the disclosure of certain kinds of information and to protect certain information maintained in this system of records.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 182 (Thursday, September 19, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 182 (Thursday, September 19, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 76783-76785]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-21278]
[[Page 76783]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
31 CFR Part 1
Privacy Act Exemptions
AGENCY: Departmental Offices, Department of the Treasury.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended
(Privacy Act), the Department of the Treasury (Treasury), Departmental
Offices gives notice of a proposed exemption for a new system of
records entitled ``Department of the Treasury, Departmental Offices
.413--Outbound Investment Security Program Notification System'' from
certain provisions of the Privacy Act. The Outbound Investment Security
Program Notification System is being established for information
collected in connection with the implementation of the Executive order
of August 9, 2023. The exemption is intended to comply with the legal
prohibitions against the disclosure of certain kinds of information and
to protect certain information maintained in this system of records.
DATES: Written comments must be received by October 21, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
<bullet> Federal E-rulemaking Portal: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Electronic submission
of comments allows the commenter maximum time to prepare and submit a
comment and ensures timely receipt.
<bullet> Mail: U.S. Department of the Treasury, Attention: Meena R.
Sharma, Director, Office of Investment Security Policy and
International Relations, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC
20220.
Treasury encourages comments to be submitted via <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. All comments submitted, including attachments and
other supporting material, will be made public, including any
personally identifiable or confidential business information that is
included in a comment. Therefore, commenters should submit only
information that they wish to make publicly available. Commenters who
wish to remain anonymous should not include identifying information in
their comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions and questions
regarding privacy issues, please contact: Ryan Law, Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Privacy, Transparency, and Records, Department of the
Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20220; telephone:
(202) 622-5710.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On August 9, 2023, the President issued Executive Order 14105, 88
FR 54867 (the Outbound Order), which declares a national emergency to
address the threat to the United States posed by countries of concern,
which seek to develop and exploit sensitive technologies or products
critical for military, intelligence, surveillance, or cyber-enabled
capabilities. Among other things, the Outbound Order directs the
Secretary of the Treasury to issue regulations that require U.S.
persons to provide notification of information to the Department of the
Treasury (Treasury) regarding certain transactions involving a person
of a country of concern that is engaged in certain activities involving
covered national security technologies and products that may contribute
to the threat to the national security of the United States as
identified under the Order. The Outbound Order also directs the
Secretary of the Treasury to issue regulations that prohibit certain
transactions by a U.S. person involving a person of a country of
concern that is engaged in certain activities involving covered
national security technologies and products that pose a particularly
acute national security threat to the United States. The Outbound Order
authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to exempt from applicable
prohibitions or notification requirements any transaction or
transactions determined to be in the national interest of the United
States. On August 9, 2023, Treasury issued an advance notice of
proposed rulemaking, 88 FR 54961 (published August 14, 2023), to
explain initial considerations and seek public comment on
implementation of the Order.
On June 21, 2024, Treasury issued a notice of proposed rulemaking
(NPRM) to seek public comment on the proposed rule, 89 FR 55846
(published July 5, 2024). Treasury intends to require U.S. persons to
provide notification of certain transactions under its implementing
regulations. This information would include relevant details on the
U.S. person(s) involved in the transaction as well as information on
the transaction and the foreign person(s) involved. These notifications
would increase the U.S. Government's visibility into transactions by
U.S. persons or their controlled foreign entities and involving
technologies and products relevant to the threat to the national
security of the United States due to the policies and actions of
countries of concern. These notifications would also be helpful in
highlighting aggregate sector trends and related capital flows as well
as informing future policy development. Treasury also intends to
require any U.S. person seeking a national interest exemption for a
particular transaction to submit information to Treasury regarding the
scope of that transaction including, as applicable, the information
that would be required for a notification under the implementing
regulations. These transactions are the subject of this document.
In a systems of records notice published elsewhere in this issue of
the Federal Register, Treasury's Departmental Offices is proposing to
establish a system of records for information collected in connection
with the implementation of the Order.
Privacy Act
Treasury, Departmental Offices is hereby giving notice of a
proposed rule to exempt the Outbound Investment Security Program
Notification System from certain provisions of the Privacy Act pursuant
to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(1) and (k)(2) and the authority vested in the
Secretary of the Treasury by 31 CFR 1.23(c).
Under 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(1), the head of a Federal agency may
promulgate rules to exempt a system of records from certain provisions
of 5 U.S.C. 552a if the system of records is subject to the exemption
contained in section 552(b)(1) of this title. (Freedom of Information
Act, exemption (b)(1) protects from disclosure information that has
been deemed classified ``under criteria established by an Executive
order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign
policy'' and is ``in fact properly classified pursuant to such
Executive order.'')
Under 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2), the head of a Federal agency may
promulgate rules to exempt a system of records from certain provisions
of 5 U.S.C. 552a if the system of records contains investigatory
materials compiled for law enforcement purposes that are not within the
scope of subsection (j)(2) of the Privacy Act (which applies to
agencies and components thereof that perform as their principal
function any activity pertaining to the enforcement of criminal laws).
To the extent that this system of records contains classified
information protected by 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(1) or investigatory materials
compiled for law
[[Page 76784]]
enforcement purposes protected by 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2), Treasury
proposes to exempt the following system of records from various
provisions of the Privacy Act:
DO .413--Outbound Investment Security Program Notification System
Under 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(1) and (k)(2), Treasury proposes that
certain records in the above-referenced system of records be exempt
from 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3), (d)(1) through (4), (e)(1), (e)(4)(G) through
(I), and (f) of the Privacy Act. See 31 CFR 1.36.
The following are the reasons why the classified records and
investigatory materials contained in the above-referenced system of
records may be exempted from various provisions of the Privacy Act
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(1) and (2).
1. 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3) requires an agency to make any accounting of
disclosures of records required by 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(1) available to the
individual named in the record upon his or her request. Exemption from
this requirement is appropriate because release of the accounting of
disclosures of the records in this system could alert individuals
whether they have been identified as the subject of an analysis related
to the national security interests of the United States, to the
existence of the analysis, and reveal the interest on the part of
Treasury as well as the recipient agency. Disclosure of the accounting
would present a serious impediment to efforts to protect national
security interests by giving individuals an opportunity to learn
whether they have been identified as subjects of a national security-
related analysis. As further described in the following paragraph,
access to such knowledge would impair Treasury's ability to carry out
its mission, since individuals could:
i. Take steps to avoid analysis;
ii. Inform associates that a national security analysis is in
progress;
iii. Learn the nature of the national security analysis;
iv. Learn the scope of the national security analysis;
v. Begin, continue, or resume conduct that may pose a threat to
national security upon inferring they may not be part of a national
security analysis because their records were not disclosed; or
vi. Destroy information relevant to the national security analysis.
2. 5 U.S.C. 552a(d)(1) through (4) grant individuals access to
records containing information about them and permit them to request
amendment of a record pertaining to them and require the agency either
to amend the record or note the disputed portion of the record and, if
the agency refuses to amend the record, to provide a copy of the
individual's statement of disagreement with the agency's refusal, to
persons or other agencies to whom the record is thereafter disclosed.
Exemption from this requirement is appropriate because access to a
portion of the records contained in this system of records could inform
individuals whether they have been identified as the subject of an
analysis related to the national security interests of the United
States, to the existence of the analysis and reveal the interest on the
part of Treasury or another agency. Access to the records would present
a serious impediment to efforts to protect national security interests
by permitting the individual who is the subject of a record to learn
whether they have been identified as a subject of a national security-
related analysis. Access to such knowledge would impair Treasury's
ability to carry out its mission, since individuals could take steps to
impede the analysis and avoid detection, including the steps described
in paragraphs 1.i. through vi. of this section. Amendment of the
records would interfere with ongoing analysis and impose an impossible
administrative burden. The information contained in the system may also
include classified information, the release of which would pose a
threat to the national security of the United States. In addition,
permitting access and amendment to such information could disclose
sensitive security information that could be detrimental to Treasury.
3. 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(1) requires an agency to maintain in its
records only such information about an individual as is relevant and
necessary to accomplish a purpose of the agency required to be
accomplished by statute or Executive order. Exemption from this
requirement is appropriate because what information is relevant and
necessary may not always be apparent at the time of collection. In the
interests of national security, it is appropriate to include a broad
range of information that may aid in identifying and assessing the
nature and scope of national security threats to the United States.
Additionally, the accuracy of information obtained or introduced
occasionally may be unclear, or the information may not be strictly
relevant or necessary to a specific analysis. In the interests of
national security, it is appropriate to retain all information that may
aid in establishing patterns of suspicious activity.
4. 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4)(G) throuh (I) and 5 U.S.C. 552a(f) require
an agency to publish the agency procedures whereby individuals can be
notified if the system of records pertains to them, how they can gain
access to any record pertaining to them in the system of records and
contest its content, and the categories of sources of records in the
system. Exemption from these requirements is appropriate because, as
noted above, this system is exempt from the access and amendment
provisions of subsection (d).
Any records from another Treasury system of records or another
Executive Branch agency's system of records for which an exemption is
claimed under 5 U.S.C. 552a(j) or (k) that may also be included in this
system of records retains the same exempt status as such records have
in the system for which such exemption is claimed.
Regulatory Analysis
This proposed rule is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under
Executive Order 12866. Pursuant to the requirements of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (RFA), 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., it is hereby certified
that this proposed rule will not have a significant economic impact on
a substantial number of small entities. This proposed rule, issued
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k), is to exempt certain information
maintained by Treasury in the above-referenced systems of records from
certain provisions of the Privacy Act. Small entities, as defined in
the RFA, are not provided rights under the Privacy Act and are outside
the scope of this regulation.
The related information collections have been submitted to the
Office of Management and Budget on July 8, 2024 under control number:
202407-1505-002.
List of Subjects in 31 CFR Part 1
Courts, Freedom of information, Government employees, Privacy.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, Treasury proposes to amend
31 CFR part 1 as follows:
PART 1--DISCLOSURE OF RECORDS
0
1. The authority citation for part 1 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301, 552, 552a, 553; 31 U.S.C. 301, 321; 31
U.S.C. 3717.
0
2. Amend Sec. 1.36 by adding, in alphanumeric order, an entry for ``DO
.413--Outbound Investment Security Program Notification System'' in
table 8 to paragraph (e)(1)(ii) and table 11 to paragraph (g)(1)(ii) to
read as follows:
[[Page 76785]]
Sec. 1.36 Systems exempt in whole or in part from provisions of the
Privacy Act and this part.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
(1) * * *
(ii) * * *
Table 8 to Paragraph (e)(1)(ii)
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No. Name of system
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * * *
DO .413................................ Outbound Investment Security
Program Notification System.
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* * * * *
(g) * * *
(1) * * *
(ii) * * *
Table 11 to Paragraph (g)(1)(ii)
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No. Name of system
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * * *
DO .413................................ Outbound Investment Security
Program Notification System.
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* * * * *
Dated: September 12, 2024.
Ryan Law,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Privacy, Transparency, and Records.
[FR Doc. 2024-21278 Filed 9-18-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-AK-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 19, 2024.
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