Notice2025-02571
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Extension
Primary source
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Published
February 13, 2025
Issuing agencies
Federal Trade Commission
Abstract
The information collection requirements described below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). The FTC seeks public comments on the agency's shared enforcement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) of the information collection requirements in CFPB's rule on Duties of Consumer Reporting Agencies Regarding Disclosures to Consumers (Rule). That clearance expires on April 30, 2025.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 29 (Thursday, February 13, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 29 (Thursday, February 13, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9549-9551]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-02571]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request; Extension
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The information collection requirements described below will
be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review,
as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). The FTC seeks public
comments on the agency's shared enforcement with the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau (CFPB) of the information collection requirements in
CFPB's rule on Duties of Consumer Reporting Agencies Regarding
Disclosures to Consumers (Rule). That clearance expires on April 30,
2025.
DATES: Comments must be filed by April 14, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper, by
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``Regulation V, subpart
N; PRA Comment, P085405,'' on your comment, and file your comment
online at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> by following the instructions on
the web-based form. If you prefer to file your comment on paper, mail
your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office
of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite CC-5610 (Annex J),
Washington, DC 20580.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ryan Mehm, Attorney, Bureau of
Consumer Protection, (202) 326-2918, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ea98878f8287aa8c9e89c48d859c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="097b646c6164496f7d6a276e667f">[email protected]</span></a>, Federal Trade
Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Regulation V, Subpart N (12 CFR 1022.130-1022.138).
OMB Control Number: 3084-0128.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Abstract: The FTC shares enforcement authority with the CFPB for
subpart N of Regulation V. Subpart N requires nationwide consumer
reporting agencies and nationwide consumer specialty reporting agencies
to provide to consumers, upon request, one free file disclosure within
any 12-month period. Generally, it requires the nationwide consumer
reporting agencies, as defined in section 603(p) of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (FCRA), 15 U.S.C. 1681a(p), to create and operate a
centralized source that provides consumers with the ability to request
their free annual file disclosures from each of the nationwide consumer
reporting agencies through a centralized internet website, toll-free
telephone number, and postal address. Subpart N also requires the
nationwide consumer reporting agencies to establish a standardized form
for internet and mail requests for annual file disclosures and provides
a model standardized form that may be used to comply with that
requirement. It additionally requires nationwide specialty consumer
reporting agencies, as defined in section 603(w) of the FCRA, 15 U.S.C.
1681a(w), to establish a streamlined process for consumers to request
annual file disclosures. This streamlined process must include a toll-
free telephone number for consumers to make such requests.
As required by section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, 44 U.S.C.
3506(c)(2)(A), the FTC is providing this opportunity for public comment
before requesting that OMB extend the existing clearance for the
information collection requirements contained in the Rule.
Burden Statement
Because the FTC shares enforcement authority with the CFPB for
subpart N, the two agencies split between them the related estimate of
PRA burden for firms under their co-enforcement jurisdiction. Estimated
PRA burden, excluding the halving (to be shown at the conclusion of
this analysis), are as follows:
A. Requests per Year From Consumers for Free Annual File Disclosures
When the FTC last sought clearance renewal for the Rule, we
estimated 34 million requests per year as a representative average to
calculate PRA burden, and noted that the Commission was seeking more
recent estimates of the number of requests consumers are making for
free credit reports. Since that time, the Consumer Data Industry
Association (``CDIA'') estimated that in 2023 and 2024, the nationwide
consumer reporting agencies provided on average approximately 17
million free annual file disclosures through the centralized internet
website required to be established by the FACT Act and subpart N. Based
on its knowledge of the industry, FTC staff projected that during this
same time period of 2023 and 2024 the consumer reporting agencies
provided no more than 2 million free annual file disclosures through
the centralized toll-free telephone number and postal address required
to be established by the FACT Act and subpart N. We expect that the
number of requests for free annual credit reports will rise over the
next three years because of increases in the population and consumer
awareness that they are entitled to a free annual report. As a proxy,
we are now estimating 21 million requests per year as a representative
average year to estimate PRA burden for purposes of the instant
analysis.
The Commission seeks recent data on how these requests are being
received--by internet, phone, or by mail.
B. Annual File Disclosures Provided Through the Internet
Both nationwide and nationwide specialty consumer reporting
agencies will likely handle the overwhelming majority of consumer
requests through internet websites. The annual file disclosure requests
processed through the internet will impose a de minimis hourly burden
in personnel costs per request on the nationwide and nationwide
specialty consumer reporting agencies, except for those requests that
are redirected to the mail process.\1\ However, consumer reporting
agencies periodically will be required to adjust the internet capacity
needed to handle the changing request volume. Consumer reporting
agencies likely will make such adjustments by negotiating or
renegotiating outsourcing service contracts annually or as conditions
change. Trained personnel will need to spend time negotiating and
renegotiating such contracts. Commission staff estimates that
negotiating such contracts will require a cumulative total of 8,320
hours and $678,080 in labor costs.\2\ Such activity
[[Page 9550]]
is treated as an annual burden of maintaining and adjusting the
changing internet capacity requirements.
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\1\ See infra note 5.
\2\ Based on the time necessary for similar activity in the
federal government (including at the FTC), staff estimates that such
contracting and administration will require approximately 4 full-
time equivalent employees (FTE) for the web service contracts. Thus,
staff estimates that administering the contract will require four
FTE, which is 8,320 hours per year (four FTE x 2,080 hours/year).
The cost is based on the most current Bureau of Labor Statistics
median hourly rate ($81.50) for computer and information systems
managers. See Occupational Employment Statistics (released on April
3, 2024), Occupational Employment and Wages--May 2023, Table 1,
available at <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.t01.htm">https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.t01.htm</a>. Thus,
the estimated setup and maintenance cost for an internet system is
$678,080 per year (8,320 hours x $81.50/hour).
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C. Annual File Disclosures Requested Over the Telephone
Most of the telephone requests for annual file disclosures will
also be handled in an automated fashion, with de minimis personnel
costs needed to process the requests except for those requests that are
redirected to the mail process.\3\ As with the internet, consumer
reporting agencies will require additional time and investment to
increase and administer the automated telephone capacity for the
expected increase in request volume. The nationwide and nationwide
specialty consumer reporting agencies will likely make such adjustments
by negotiating or renegotiating outsourcing service contracts annually
or as conditions change. Staff estimates that this will require a total
of 6,240 hours at a cost of $508,560 in labor costs.\4\ This activity
also is treated as an annual recurring burden necessary to obtain,
maintain, and adjust automated call center capacity.
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\3\ See infra note 5.
\4\ Staff estimates that recurring contracting for automated
telephone capacity will require approximately 3 FTE, a total of
6,240 hours (3 x 2,080 hours). Applying an hourly wage rate of
$81.50 (see supra note 2), estimated setup and maintenance cost is
$508,560 (6,240 x $81.50) per year.
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D. Annual File Disclosures Requiring Processing by Mail
Based on their knowledge of the industry, staff believes that no
more than 1% of consumers (1% x 21 million, or 210,000) will request an
annual file disclosure through U.S. postal service mail. Staff
estimates that clerical personnel will require 10 minutes per request
to handle these requests, thereby totaling 35,000 hours of time.
[(210,000 x 10 minutes)/60 minutes per hour = 35,000 hours.]
In addition, whenever the requesting consumer cannot be identified
using an automated method (a website or automated telephone service),
it will be necessary to redirect that consumer to send identifying
material along with the request by mail. Staff estimates that this will
occur in about 5% of the new requests (or 1,039,500) \5\ that were
originally placed over the internet or telephone. Staff estimates that
clerical personnel will require approximately 10 minutes per request to
input and process those redirected requests for a cumulative total of
173,250 clerical hours. [(1,039,500 x 10 minutes)/60 minutes per hour =
173,250 hours.]
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\5\ This figure reflects five percent of all requests, net of
the estimated one percent of all requests that might initially be
made by mail. That is, 0.05 x (21,000,000-210,000) = 1,039,500.
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E. Instructions to Consumers
The Rule also requires that certain instructions be provided to
consumers. See 12 CFR 1022.136(b)(2)(iv)(A) and (B),
1022.137(a)(2)(iii)(A) and (B). Minimal associated time or cost is
involved, however. Internet instructions to consumers are embedded in
the centralized source website and do not require additional time or
cost for the nationwide consumer reporting agencies. Similarly, for
telephone requests, the automated phone systems provide the requisite
instructions when consumers select certain options. Some consumers who
request their credit reports by mail might additionally request printed
instructions from the nationwide and nationwide specialty consumer
reporting agencies. Staff estimates that there will be a total of
1,249,500 requests each year for free annual file disclosures by
mail.\6\ Based on its knowledge of the industry, staff estimates that,
of the predicted 1,249,500 mail requests, 10% (or 124,950) will request
instructions by mail. If printed instructions are sent to each of these
consumers by mail, requiring 10 minutes of clerical time per consumer,
this will total 20,825 hours. [(124,950 instructions x 10 minutes)/60
minutes per hour.]
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\6\ This figure includes both the estimated 1% of 21 million
requests that will be made by mail each year (210,000), and the
estimated 1,039,500 requests initially made over the internet or
telephone that will be redirected to the mail process (see supra
note 5).
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F. Annual Labor Costs
Labor costs are derived by applying median hourly cost figures to
the burden hours described above. Staff anticipates that processing of
requests for annual file disclosures and instructions will be performed
by clerical personnel and estimates that the processing will require
229,075 hours at an annual cost of $4,760,179. [(35,000 hours for
handling initial mail requests + 173,250 hours for handling requests
redirected to mail + 20,825 hours for handling instructions mailed to
consumers) x $20.78 per hour.\7\]
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\7\ See Occupational Employment and Wages--May 2023, Table 1,
available at <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ocwage.pdf">https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ocwage.pdf</a> (Office
and administrative support workers, all others).
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As elaborated on above, staff estimates that a total of 14,560
labor hours will be needed to negotiate or renegotiate outsourced
service contracts annually (or as conditions otherwise change) to
increase internet (8,320 hours) and telephone (6,240 hours) capacity
requirements for internet web services and the automated telephone call
center. This will result in approximately $1,186,640 per year in labor
costs. [14,560 hours x $81.50 per hour.\8\]
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\8\ See supra notes 2 and 4.
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Thus, estimated cumulative annual labor costs are $5,946,819.
G. Capital/Non-Labor Costs
As in the previous PRA clearance analysis, FTC staff believes it is
likely that consumer reporting agencies will use third-party
contractors (instead of their own employees) to increase the capacity
of their systems. Because of the way these contracts are typically
established, these costs will likely be incurred on a continuing basis
and will be calculated based on the number of requests handled by the
systems. Staff estimates that the total annual amount to be paid for
services delivered under these contracts is $8,021,000.\9\
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\9\ This consists of an estimated $3,569,000 for automated
telephone cost ($1.49 per request x 2,395,260 requests), an
estimated $2,603,000 ($0.15 per request x 17,355,240 requests) for
internet web service cost, and an estimated $1,849,000 for printing
and mailing costs ($1.48 per request x 1,249,500 requests). Per unit
cost estimates are based on staff's knowledge of the industry.
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H. Net Burden for FTC, After 50:50 Split
After halving the updated estimates to split the PRA burden with
the CFPB regarding the Rule, the FTC's burden totals are 121,818 hours,
$2,973,410 in associated labor costs, and $4,010,500 in capital/non-
labor costs.
Request for Comment
Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the FTC invites
comments on: (1) whether the disclosure and recordkeeping requirements
are necessary, including whether the information will be practically
useful; (2) the accuracy of our burden estimates, including whether the
methodology and assumptions used are valid; (3) ways to enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
(4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information.
For the FTC to consider a comment, we must receive it on or before
April 14,
[[Page 9551]]
2025. Your comment, including your name and your state, will be placed
on the public record of this proceeding, including the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> website.
You can file a comment online or on paper. Due to heightened
security screening, postal mail addressed to the Commission will be
subject to delay. We encourage you to submit your comments online
through the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> website.
If you file your comment on paper, write ``Regulation V, subpart N;
PRA Comment, P085405,'' on your comment and on the envelope, and mail
it to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the
Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite CC-5610 (Annex J),
Washington, DC 20580.
Because your comment will become publicly available at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, you are solely responsible for making sure that
your comment does not include any sensitive or confidential
information. In particular, your comment should not include any
sensitive personal information, such as your or anyone else's Social
Security number; date of birth; driver's license number or other state
identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number;
financial account number; or credit or debit card number. You are also
solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include
any sensitive health information, such as medical records or other
individually identifiable health information. In addition, your comment
should not include any ``trade secret or any commercial or financial
information which . . . is privileged or confidential''--as provided by
section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2),
16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)--including, in particular, competitively sensitive
information, such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas,
patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.
Comments containing material for which confidential treatment is
requested must (1) be filed in paper form, (2) be clearly labeled
``Confidential,'' and (3) comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c). In particular,
the written request for confidential treatment that accompanies the
comment must include the factual and legal basis for the request, and
must identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from
the public record. See FTC Rule 4.9(c). Your comment will be kept
confidential only if the General Counsel grants your request in
accordance with the law and the public interest. Once your comment has
been posted publicly at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>, we cannot redact or remove
your comment unless you submit a confidentiality request that meets the
requirements for such treatment under FTC Rule 4.9(c), and the General
Counsel grants that request.
The FTC Act and other laws that the Commission administers permit
the collection of public comments to consider and use in this
proceeding as appropriate. The Commission will consider all timely and
responsive public comments that it receives on or before April 14,
2025. For information on the Commission's privacy policy, including
routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, see <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy">https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy</a>.
Josephine Liu,
Assistant General Counsel for Legal Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2025-02571 Filed 2-12-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P
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