This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

52914 

Vol. 74, No. 198 

Thursday, October 15, 2009 

1 The Notice was announced in a press release 

on July 30, 2009, available at: (http://www.ftc.gov/ 

opa/2009/07/tsr.shtm). 

2 74 FR 41988 (Aug. 19, 2009). 

4 The other signatories are Rep. John Sullivan, 

Rep. Steve Scalise, Rep. Lynne Westmoreland, Rep. 

Sam Johnson, Rep. Sue Myrick, Rep. Marsha 

Blackburn, Rep. Mike Coffman, Rep. Tom Price, and 

Rep. Mary Fallin. 

5 Additional information about the public forum 

is available at (http://www1.ftc.gov/opa/2009/08/ 

tsrforum.shtm). 

6 The comment must be accompanied by an 

explicit request for confidential treatment, 

including the factual and legal basis for the request, 

and must identify the specific portions of the 

comment to be withheld from the public record. 

The request will be granted or denied by the 

Commission’s General Counsel, consistent with 

applicable law and the public interest. See FTC 

Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c). 

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 

16 CFR Part 310 

Telemarketing Sales Rule; Extension 

of Comment Period in the Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking 

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’ or ‘‘FTC’’). 

ACTION: Extension of comment period. 

SUMMARY: In a Federal Register 

document announced on July 30, 2009,1

and published in the Federal Register 

on August 19, 2009 (‘‘Notice),2 the 

Federal Trade Commission requested 

comment on its Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking (‘‘NPRM’’) in connection 

with proposed debt relief amendments 

to the Telemarketing Sales Rule 

(‘‘TSR’’). The NPRM stated that 

comments must be received on or before 

October 9, 2009. In response to a request 

to extend the comment period received 

on September 17, 2009, the Commission 

has determined to extend the comment 

period until October 26, 2009. 

DATES: Written comments addressing 

the debt relief amendments to the TSR 

must be received on or before October 

26, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are 

invited to submit written comments 

electronically or in paper form. For 

important information concerning the 

comments you file, please review the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 

below. Comments in electronic form 

should be filed at the following 

electronic address: (https:// 

secure.commentworks.com/ftcTSRDebtRelief) (following the 

instructions on the web-based form). 

Comments in paper form should be 

mailed or delivered to the following 

address: Federal Trade Commission, 

Office of the Secretary, Room H-135 

(Annex T), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, 

NW, Washington, DC 20580, in the 

manner detailed in the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section below. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Allison Brown, Division of Financial 

Practices, Bureau of Consumer 

Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 

600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, 

Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326-3224. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 

19, 2009, the Commission published an 

NPRM proposing amendments to the 

Telemarketing Sales Rule (16 CFR part 

310) to address concerns about debt 

relief services. In that Notice, the 

Commission solicited comment 

regarding the proposed Rule and 

provided for a 60-day comment period. 

Thus, the comment period for the 

NPRM would close October 9, 2009. 

On September 17, 2009, U.S. 

Congressman Dan Burton sent a letter to 

FTC Chairman Jon D. Leibowitz 

requesting a 120-day extension of the 

comment period, and on October 2, 

2009, U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions 

and nine other Members of Congress4

sent a letter to Chairman Leibowitz 

similarly requesting a 120-day extension 

of the comment period. In their letters, 

Congressman Burton and the other 

Members of Congress state that the 

NPRM involves issues that are 

important to many Members of 

Congress, who were unable to give the 

issues proper consideration due to the 

August recess and ensuing and pressing 

Congressional business. They also state 

that many members of the public will be 

unable to participate in the comment 

process given the current comment 

deadline. 

The Commission concludes that 

although an extension is warranted, an 

extension of 120 days is unnecessary to 

ensure that interested parties have an 

adequate opportunity to prepare and 

submit comments and would cause 

undue delay. In addition, the FTC staff 

is holding a public forum on November 

4, 2009 to discuss the comments 

received on the proposed rule and allow 

members of the public to express views 

about the proposed rule. The public 

forum provides another opportunity to 

provide information to the Commission. 

Requests to participate in the public 

forum are due on October 9, 2009.5

Accordingly, the Commission has 

decided to extend the comment period 

from October 9, 2009 to October 26, 

2009. Interested parties are invited to 

submit written comments electronically 

or in paper form. Comments should 

refer to ‘‘Telemarketing Sales Rule - 

Debt Relief Amendments, R411001’’ to 

facilitate the organization of comments. 

Please note that your comment— 

including your name and your state— 

will be placed on the public record of 

this proceeding, including on the 

publicly accessible FTC Website at 

(http://www.ftc.gov/os/ 

publiccomments.shtm). 

Because comments will be made 

public, they should not include any 

sensitive personal information, such as 

any individual’s: Social Security 

Number; date of birth; driver’s license 

number, other state identification 

number, or foreign country equivalent; 

passport number; financial account 

number; or credit or debit card number. 

Comments also should not include any 

sensitive health information, such as 

medical records or other individually 

identifiable health information. In 

addition, comments should not include 

any ‘‘[t]rade secret or any commercial or 

financial information which is obtained 

from any person and which is privileged 

orconfidential,’’ as provided in Section 

6(f) of the Federal Trade Commission 

Act (‘‘FTC Act’’), 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and 

FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2). 

Comments containing material for 

which confidential treatment is 

requested must be filed in paper form, 

must be clearly labeled ‘‘Confidential,’’ 

and must comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c), 

16 CFR 4.9(c).6

Because paper mail addressed to the 

FTC is subject to delay due to 

heightened security screening, please 

consider submitting your comments in 

electronic form. Comments filed in 

electronic form should be submitted by 

using the following weblink: (https:// 


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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 198 / Thursday, October 15, 2009 / Proposed Rules 52915 

116 CFR Part 610. 

2Section 603(p) of the FCRA defines a 

‘‘nationwide consumer reporting agency’’ as a 

consumer reporting agency that compiles and 

maintains files on consumers on a nationwide basis. 

At this time, there are three nationwide consumer 

reporting agencies – Equifax Inc., Experian, and 

TransUnion LLC. 

3Nationwide specialty consumer reporting 

agencies are defined in section 603(w) of the FCRA. 

Specifically, section 603(w) defines ‘‘nationwide 

specialty consumer reporting agency’’ as a CRA that 

compiles and maintains files on consumers on a 

nationwide basis relating to (1) medical records or 

payments; (2) residential or tenant history, (3) check 

writing history, (4) employment history, or (5) 

insurance claims. 

4Pub. L. 111-24, 123 Stat. 1734 (May 22, 2009). 

secure.commentworks.com/ftcTSRDebtRelief) (and following the 

instructions on the web-based form). To 

ensure that the Commission considers 

an electronic comment, you must file it 

on the web-based form at the weblink 

(https://secure.commentworks.com/ftcTSRDebtRelief). If this Notice appears at 

(http://www.regulations.gov/search/ 

Regs/home.html#home), you may also 

file an electronic comment through that 

website. The Commission will consider 

all comments that regulations.gov 

forwards to it. You may also visit the 

FTC website at (http://www.ftc.gov) to 

read the Notice and the news release 

describing it. 

A comment filed in paper form 

should include the ‘‘Telemarketing 

Sales Rule - Debt Relief Amendments - 

R411001’’ reference both in the text and 

on the envelope, and should be mailed 

or delivered to the following address: 

Federal Trade Commission, Office of the 

Secretary, Room H-135 (Annex T), 600 

Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, 

DC 20580. The FTC requests that any 

comment filed in paper form be sent by 

courier or overnight service, if possible, 

to avoid security related delays. 

Comments on any proposed filing, 

recordkeeping, or disclosure 

requirements that are subject to 

paperwork burden review under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act should 

additionally be submitted to: Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Office of Management and Budget 

(‘‘OMB’’), Attention: Desk Officer for 

Federal Trade Commission. Comments 

should be submitted via facsimile to 

(202) 395-5167 because U.S. postal mail 

at the OMB is subject to delays due to 

heightened security precautions. 

The FTC Act and other laws the 

Commission administers permit the 

collection of public comments to 

consider and use in this proceeding as 

appropriate. The Commission will 

consider all timely and responsive 

public comments that it receives, 

whether filed in paper or electronic 

form. Comments received will be 

available to the public on the FTC 

website, to the extent practicable, at 

(http://www.ftc.gov/os/ 

publiccomments.shtm). As a matter of 

discretion, the Commission makes every 

effort to remove home contact 

information for individuals from the 

public comments it receives before 

placing those comments on the FTC 

website. More information, including 

routine uses permitted by the Privacy 

Act, may be found in the FTC’s privacy 

policy, at (http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/ 

privacy.shtm). 

By direction of the Commission. 

Donald S. Clark, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E9–24730 Filed 10–14–09: 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6750–01–S 

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 

16 CFR Part 610 

RIN 3084-AA94 

Free Annual File Disclosures 

Amendments to Rule to Prevent 

Deceptive Marketing of Credit Reports 

and to Ensure Access to Free Annual 

File Disclosures 

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking; 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: Section 205 of the Credit 

CARD Act of 2009 requires the Federal 

Trade Commission (‘‘FTC’’ or 

‘‘Commission’’) to issue a rule by 

February 22, 2010, to prevent deceptive 

marketing of ‘‘free credit reports.’’To 

that end, the Commission proposes, and 

seeks comment on, amendments to the 

Commission’s Free Annual File 

Disclosures Rule, 16 CFR Part 610. The 

proposed amendments would require 

certain advertisements for ‘‘free credit 

reports’’ to include prominent 

disclosures designed to prevent 

consumers from confusing these ‘‘free’’ 

offers with the federally mandated free 

annual file disclosures available through 

the single centralized source. In 

addition, the Commission proposes 

amendments to delay advertisements for 

products and services through the 

centralized source until after the 

consumer receives his or her free annual 

file disclosure, and to prohibit other 

practices that may interfere with the free 

file disclosure process. Finally, the 

Commission proposes certain technical 

amendments to the Rule. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before November 30, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are 

invited to submit written comments 

electronically or in paper form, by 

following the instructions in the 

Request for Comments part of the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 

section below. Comments in electronic 

form should be submitted by using the 

following weblink: (http:// 

public.commentworks.com/ftc/ 

FreeCreditReportNPRM) (and following 

the instructions on the web-based form). 

Comments in paper form should be 

mailed or delivered to the following 

address: Federal Trade Commission, 

Office of the Secretary, Room H-135 

(Annex T), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, 

NW, Washington, DC 20580, in the 

manner detailed in the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section below. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Katherine Armstrong, Attorney, or 

Steven Toporoff, Attorney, Division of 

Privacy and Identity Protection, Bureau 

of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade 

Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, 

NW., Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326- 

2252. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

In this Notice, the Commission is 

proposing to amend its Free Annual File 

Disclosures Rule (‘‘Free Reports Rule’’ 

or ‘‘Rule’’),1 which went into effect in 

2004. This Rule sets out the procedures 

that nationwide consumer reporting 

agencies2 (‘‘CRAs’’) and nationwide 

specialty consumer reporting agencies3

must follow to comply with section 612 

of the Fair Credit Reporting Act 

(‘‘FCRA’’), which gives consumers the 

right to obtain free annual file 

disclosures from the nationwide CRAs 

through a single centralized source. The 

Commission’s proposed amendments 

implement the Credit Card 

Accountability Responsibility and 

Disclosure Act of 2009 (‘‘Act’’),4 which 

directs the Commission to promulgate a 

rule within nine months requiring 

certain disclosures in the advertising for 

‘‘free credit reports’’ to reduce consumer 

confusion. The Commission also is 

proposing a number of changes to 

address certain practices that the 

Commission believes interfere with or 

detract from consumers’ ability to obtain 

their free annual file disclosures, as well 

as certain technical corrections 

described below. 

A. The Free Annual File Disclosures 

Rule 

The Fair and Accurate Credit 

Transactions Act of 2003 (‘‘FACT Act’’) 

amended the FCRA and directed the 

Commission to promulgate a rule 

specifying the procedures for consumers 


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