Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals

Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Extension

DATES:

Comments must be filed by January 3, 2025.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Trade Regulation Rule Pursuant to the Telephone Disclosure and Dispute Resolution Act of 1992 ("Pay-Per-Call Rule"), 16 CFR part 308.

OMB Control Number: 3084-0102.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Abstract: The existing reporting and disclosure requirements of the Pay-Per-Call Rule are mandated by the Telephone Disclosure and Dispute Resolution Act of 1992 (TDDRA) to help prevent unfair and deceptive acts and practices in the advertising and operation of pay-per-call services and in the collection of charges for telephone-billed purchases. The information obtained by the Commission pursuant to the reporting requirement is used for law enforcement purposes. The disclosure requirements ensure that consumers are told about the costs of using a pay-per-call service, that they will not be liable for unauthorized non-toll charges on their telephone bills, and how to deal with disputes about telephone-billed purchases.

Likely Respondents: telecommunications common carriers (subject to the reporting requirement only, unless acting as a billing entity), information providers (vendors) offering one or more pay-per-call services or programs, and billing entities.

Estimated Annual Hours Burden: 949,536 hours (24 + 949,512).

Reporting: 24 hours for reporting by common carriers

Disclosure: 949,512 [(19,440 hours for advertising by vendors + 19,992 hours for preamble disclosure which applies to every pay-per-call service + 6,480 burden hours for telephone-billed charges in billing statements (applies to vendors; applies to common carriers if acting as billing entity) + 13,000 burden hours for dispute resolution procedures in billing statements (applies to billing entities) + 890,600 hours for disclosures related to consumers reporting a billing error (applies to billing entities)]

Estimated annual cost burden: $49,402,048 (solely relating to labor costs). ⁽¹⁾

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 Commission's Pay-Per-Call Rule.

Burden Estimates

Brief description of the need for and proposed use of the information:

The existing reporting and disclosure requirements are mandated by the TDDRA to help prevent unfair and deceptive acts and practices in the advertising and operation of pay-per-call services and in the collection of charges for telephone-billed purchases. The information obtained by the Commission pursuant to the reporting requirement is used for law enforcement purposes. The disclosure requirements ensure that consumers are told about the costs of using a pay-per-call service, that they will not be liable for unauthorized non-toll charges on their telephone bills, and how to deal with disputes about telephone-billed purchases.

Likely respondents and their estimated number:

Respondents are telecommunications common carriers (subject to the reporting requirement only, unless acting as a billing entity), information providers (vendors) offering one or more pay-per-call services or programs, and billing entities. Staff estimates that there are 8 common carriers, approximately 5,400 vendors, and approximately 2,600 possible billing entities. The FTC seeks public comment or data on these estimates and those stated below.

Estimated annual reporting and disclosure burden: 949,536 hours; $49,402,048 in associated labor costs.

The burden hour estimate for each reporting and disclosure requirement has been multiplied by a "blended" mean wage rate (expressed in dollars per hour), based on the particular skill mix needed to carry out that requirement, to determine its total annual cost. The blended rate calculations are based on the following skill categories and average wage rates and/or labor costs: $131/hour for professional (attorney) services; $23/hour for skilled clerical workers; $52/hour for computer programmers; and $62/hour for management time. These figures are averages, based on the most currently available Bureau of Labor Statistics ("BLS") cost figures posted online. The attorney figure is based in part on BLS estimates and on other sources. FTC staff calculated labor costs by applying appropriate hourly cost figures to the burden hours discussed further below.

(1) Reporting burden (applies to common carriers):

The Rule provides that common carriers must make available to the Commission, upon written request, any records and financial information maintained by such carrier relating to the arrangements between the carrier and any vendor or service bureau (other than for the provision of local exchange service). See 16 CFR 308.6. Staff believes that the resulting burden on this segment of the industry will be minimal, since OMB's definition of "burden" for PRA purposes excludes any business effort that would be expended regardless of a regulatory requirement. 5 CFR 1320.3(b)(2). Because this reporting requirement permits staff to seek information limited to that which is already maintained by the carriers, the only burden would be the time an entity expends to compile and provide the information to the Commission. Because the Commission has seldom needed to rely on this requirement, staff estimates the annual time for reporting at 3 hours per entity.

In obtaining OMB clearance for this reporting requirement in 2021, staff estimated a total reporting burden of 18 hours. For 2024, staff is increasing the total burden estimate to 24 hours, based on an average estimate of 3 hours expended by 8 common carriers. Using a $61/hour blended wage rate, the FTC now estimates an annual cost of $1,464.

(2) Disclosure burden:

(a) Advertising (applies to vendors). FTC staff estimates that the annual burden on the industry for the Rule's advertising disclosure requirements is 19,440 hours. The estimate reflects the burden on approximately 5,400 vendors who must make cost disclosures for all pay-per-call services and additional disclosures if the advertisement is (a) directed to individuals under 18 or (b) for certain pay-per-call services. Because of continued industry changes and the fact that the Commission has seldom needed to rely on this requirement, staff is retaining its prior estimate that each vendor would have three advertisements requiring basic disclosures, and that 20 percent of these advertisements would require an additional disclosure. FTC staff estimates that each disclosure mandated by the Rule requires approximately one hour of compliance time. The total estimated annual cost of these burden hours is $1,010,880, applying a blended wage rate of $52/hour.

(b) The Rule's preamble disclosure (applies to every pay-per-call service). To comply with the Act, the Pay-Per-Call Rule also requires that every pay-per-call service be preceded by a free preamble and that four different disclosures be made in each preamble. Additionally, preambles to sweepstakes pay-per-call services and services that offer information on federal programs must provide additional disclosures. Each preamble need only be prepared one time, unless the cost or other information is changed. There is no additional burden on the vendor to make the disclosures for each telephone call, because the preambles are taped and play automatically when a caller dials the pay-per-call number.

Staff believes that the industry has had at least an 8 percent reduction in size since 2021 (when there were an estimated 18,110 pay-per-call services). Accordingly, staff now estimates that there are no more than 16,660 advertised pay-per-call services.

As with advertising disclosures, preambles for certain pay-per-call services require additional preamble disclosures. Consistent with the estimates of advertised pay-per-call services discussed above, staff estimates that 20 percent of all such pay-per-call services (3,332) relating to certain types of pay-per-call services would require such additional disclosures. Staff estimates that it would require no more than one hour to draft each type of disclosure because the disclosures applicable to the preamble closely approximate in content and volume the advertising disclosures discussed above. Accordingly, staff estimates a total of 19,992 burden hours (16,660 + 3,332) to comply with these requirements. At one hour each, cumulative labor cost associated with these disclosures is $1,039,584, using a blended wage rate of $52/hour ( i.e., the same blended rate used for advertising disclosures).

(c) Telephone-billed charges in billing statements (applies to vendors; applies to common carriers if acting as billing entity). Section 308.5(j) of the Rule, 16 CFR 308.5(j), requires that vendors ensure that certain disclosures appear on each billing statement that contains a charge for a call to a pay-per-call service. Because these disclosures appear on telephone bills already generated by the local telephone companies, and because the carriers are already subject to nearly identical requirements pursuant to the FCC's rules, FTC staff estimated that the burden to comply would be minimal. At most, the burden on the vendor would be limited to spot checking telephone bills to ensure that the charges are displayed in the manner required by the Rule.

As it had in the 2021 PRA submission, FTC staff estimates that only 10 percent of vendors would monitor billing statements in this manner and that it would take 12 hours per year to conduct such checks. Using the total estimated number of vendors (5,400), this results in a total of 6,480 burden hours. The total annual cost would be at most $349,920, using a blended rate of $54/hour.

(d) Dispute resolution procedures in billing statements (applies to billing entities). This disclosure requirement is set forth in 16 CFR 308.7(c). The blended rate used for these disclosures is $53/hour. FTC staff previously estimated that the billing entities would spend approximately 5 hours each to review, revise, and provide the disclosures on an annual basis. The estimated hour burden for the annual notice component of this requirement is 13,000 burden hours (based on 2,600 possible billing entities each requiring 5 hours), or a total cost of $689,000.

(e) Further disclosures related to consumers reporting a billing error (applies to billing entities).

As in the 2021 PRA submission for this Rule, FTC staff estimates that the incremental disclosure obligations related to consumers reporting a billing error under section 308.7(d) requires, on average, about one hour per each billing error. In 2021, staff projected that approximately 5 percent of an estimated 19,360,880 calls made to pay-per-call services each year involves such a billing error. The staff is now reducing its prior estimate of the number of those calls by approximately 8 percent (to 17,812,010 calls) to reflect recent changes in the amount of pay-per-call services and their billing. Assuming the same apportionment (5 percent) of overall calls to pay-per-call services, this amounts to 890,600 hours, cumulatively. Applying the $52/hour blended wage rate, the estimated annual cost is $46,311,200.

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 January 3, 2025. Your comment, including your name and your state, will be placed on the public record of this proceeding, including the https://www.regulations.gov 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 https://www.regulations.gov website.

If you file your comment on paper, write "Pay-Per-Call Rule, 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 https://www.regulations.gov, 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 www.regulations.gov, 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 January 3, 2025. For information on the Commission's privacy policy, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, see https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy.

[FR Doc. 2024-25559 Filed 11-1-24; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6750-01-P

⁽¹⁾  Non-labor ( e.g., capital/other start-up) costs are generally subsumed in activities otherwise undertaken in the ordinary course of business ( e.g., business records from which only existing information must be reported to the Commission, pay-per-call advertisements or audiotext to which cost or other disclosures are added, etc.). To the extent that entities incur operating or maintenance expenses, or purchase outside services to satisfy the Rule's requirements, staff believe those expenses are also included in (or, if contracted out, would be comparable to) the annual burden hour and cost estimates provided below (where such costs are labor-related), or are otherwise included in the ordinary cost of doing business (regarding non-labor costs).