Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 201 / Thursday, October 19, 2023 / Notices 72071 

accreditation boundaries and 

maintained in a database housed in the 

FCC’s or vendor’s computer network 

databases. Access to the electronic and 

paper files is restricted to authorized 

employees and contractors; and in the 

case of electronic files to IT staff, 

contractors, and vendors who maintain 

the IT networks and services. Other 

employees and contractors may be 

granted access on a need-to-know basis. 

The electronic files and records are 

protected by the FCC and third-party 

privacy safeguards, a comprehensive 

and dynamic set of IT safety and 

security protocols and features that are 

designed to meet all Federal privacy 

standards, including those required by 

the Federal Information Security 

Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA), 

OMB, and the National Institute of 

Standards and Technology (NIST). 

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES: 

Individuals wishing to request access 

to and/or amendment of records about 

themselves should follow the 

Notification Procedure below. 

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES: 

Individuals wishing to request access 

to and/or amendment of records about 

themselves should follow the 

Notification Procedure below. 

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES: 

Individuals wishing to determine 

whether this system of records contains 

information about themselves may do so 

by writing to privacy@fcc.gov. 

Individuals requesting record access or 

amendment must also comply with the 

FCC’s Privacy Act regulations regarding 

verification of identity as required 

under 47 CFR part 0, subpart E. 

EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM: 

None 

HISTORY: 

71 FR 17269 (April 5, 2006) 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene Dortch, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2023–23102 Filed 10–18–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

[FR ID: 178826] 

Privacy Act of 1974; System of 

Records. 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of a modified system of 

records. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Communications 

Commission (FCC, Commission, or 

Agency) has modified an existing 

system of records, FCC/EB–5, 

Enforcement Bureau Activity Tracking 

System (EBATS), subject to the Privacy 

Act of 1974, as amended. This action is 

necessary to meet the requirements of 

the Privacy Act to publish in the 

Federal Register notice of the existence 

and character of records maintained by 

the agency. The FCC’s Enforcement 

Bureau (EB) uses EBATS to track its 

investigations into possible violations of 

Federal communications laws and 

regulations. This modification updates 

one routine use. 

DATES: This action will become effective 

on October 19, 2023. The routine uses 

in this action will become effective on 

November 20, 2023 unless comments 

are received that require a contrary 

determination. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments to 

Katherine C. Clark, Attorney-Advisor, 

Office of General Counsel, Room 10.306, 

Federal Communications Commission, 

45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554, 

or to privacy@fcc.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Katherine C. Clark, (202) 418–1773 or 

privacy@fcc.gov (and to obtain a copy of 

the Narrative Statement and the 

Supplementary Document, which 

includes details of the proposed 

alterations to this system of records). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

notice serves to update and modify 

FCC/EB–5. The sole modification to the 

previously published version of the 

FCC/EB–5 system of records notice is 

revising the language in routine use (6) 

Law Enforcement and Investigation to 

include disclosures to international and 

multinational regulatory and/or law 

enforcement agencies. 

SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER: 

FCC/EB–5, Enforcement Bureau 

Activity Tracking System (EBATS). 

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION: 

No information in the system is 

classified. 

SYSTEM LOCATION: 

Enforcement Bureau (EB), FCC, 45 L 

Street NE, Washington, DC 20554; and 

FCC Field Offices that may maintain 

paper documents on an ad hoc, 

temporary basis when needed to resolve 

enforcement cases in their jurisdictions. 

SYSTEM MANAGER: 

Enforcement Bureau (EB), FCC, 45 L 

Street NE, Washington, DC 20554. 

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM: 

47 U.S.C. 101, 102, 104, 301, 303, 

309(e), 312, 315, 318, 362, 364, 386, 501, 

502, 503, 507, and 510. 

PURPOSES OF THE SYSTEM: 

The Enforcement Bureau uses the 

information in this system for purposes 

that include, but are not limited to: 

1. Maintaining documents and 

tracking the status of enforcement 

investigations of entities (including 

individuals) that have been identified as 

possible violators of the 

Communications Act of 1934, as 

amended, FCC regulations, other FCC 

requirements or orders, other statutes 

and regulations subject to the FCC’s 

jurisdiction, and/or international 

treaties (collectively referred to hereafter 

as FCC Rules and Regulations); 

2. Maintaining documents and 

tracking the status of formal complaints, 

including, but not limited to those that 

involve market disputes; 

3. Determining the levels of 

compliance among FCC licensees and 

other regulatees; 

4. Documenting the Commission’s 

monitoring, overseeing, auditing, 

inspecting, and investigating for 

compliance and enforcement purposes; 

5. Providing a basis for the various 

administrative and civil or criminal 

actions against violators by EB, other 

appropriate Commission bureaus or 

offices, and/or other government 

agencies; 

6. Gathering background information 

for reference materials from various 

external sources that include, but are 

not limited to, databases, documents, 

files, and other related resources, to 

ensure that the information that is being 

compiled is accurate and up-to-date 

(cross-checking) in the course of 

investigating consumer complaints and/ 

or enforcement investigations; 

7. Maintaining archival information 

(paper documents and files) for 

reference in enforcement investigations 

and other actions; and 

8. Preventing duplication of FCC’s 

enforcement actions, e.g., for crossreference purposes, etc. 

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE

SYSTEM: 

The records in this system include, 

but are not limited to: 

1. Individuals, including FCC 

employees, who have filed complaints 

alleging violations of FCC Rules and 

Regulations; or individuals who have 

filed such complaints on behalf of other 

entities and who may have included 

their personally identifiable information 

(PII) in the complaint; 

2. Individuals who are or have been 

the subjects of FCC enforcement actions, 


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72072 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 201 / Thursday, October 19, 2023 / Notices 

including field monitoring, inspection, 

and investigation, for possible violations 

of FCC Rules and Regulations; 

3. Licensees, applicants, regulatees, 

and unlicensed individuals about whom 

there are questions of compliance with 

FCC Rules and Regulations; and 

4. FCC employees, contractors, and 

interns who perform work on behalf of 

EB. 

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM: 

The categories of records in this 

system include, but are not limited to: 

1. Information that is associated with 

those individuals who file complaints or 

who are being investigated for possible 

enforcement actions. The information 

may include: 

(a) An individual’s name, Social 

Security Number (SSN) or Taxpayer 

Identification Number (TIN), gender, 

race/ethnicity, birth date/age, place of 

birth, biometric data (photograph(s)), 

marital status, spousal data, 

miscellaneous family data, home 

address, home address history, home 

telephone number(s), personal cell 

phone number(s), personal fax 

number(s), personal email address(es), 

personal criminal background report(s), 

credit card number(s), driver license 

number(s), bank account data, financial 

data, law enforcement data, background 

investigatory data, national security 

data, employment and/or employer 

data, and other miscellaneous materials, 

documents, files, and records used for 

background information, data 

verification, and other purposes. 

(b) Inspection reports, audit reports, 

complaints, referrals, monitoring 

reports, inspection cases, referral 

memos, correspondence, audio and 

sound recordings, photographs, 

discrepancy notifications, warning 

notices, forfeiture actions, and other 

related materials. 

(c) Miscellaneous materials, 

documents, files, and records that are 

used for background information and 

data verification concerning individuals 

who may have been alleged to or have 

violated the Commission’s Rules and 

Regulations. 

2. Information that is associated with 

the same or similar current enforcement 

investigations and historic records and 

other archival, background, and 

research data and materials that are 

stored for reference in enforcement 

actions, including inspection reports, 

complaints, monitoring reports, 

investigative cases, referral memos, 

correspondence, discrepancy 

notifications, warning notices, and 

forfeiture actions; and 

3. Other, miscellaneous information 

that complainants may have included 

on informal consumer complaint forms, 

interference reports, as well as any 

additional FCC forms and complaint 

data intake systems that may be used 

from time to time to report possible 

violations of FCC Rules and Regulations 

to the FCC or associated with case files. 

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES: 

Sources of records include 

individuals submitting complaints, 

relevant law enforcement databases, 

publicly available electronic 

information and data, and individuals 

who have been contacted during 

investigations to be sources of 

information. 

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE

SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND

THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES: 

In addition to those disclosures 

generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 

552a(b) of the Privacy Act, all or a 

portion of the records or information 

contained in this system may be 

disclosed to authorized entities, as is 

determined to be relevant and 

necessary, outside the FCC as a routine 

use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as 

follows. 

1. Public Access—Names and other 

information about individuals subject to 

investigations or similar actions may be 

disclosed to the public in Commission 

releases, including Notices of Apparent 

Liability, Forfeiture Orders, Consent 

Agreements, Notice Letters, or all other 

actions released by EB or the 

Commission as part of their duties to 

enforce FCC Rules and Regulations. 

2. Due Diligence Inquiries—Where 

there is an indication of a violation or 

potential violation of FCC Rules and 

Regulations, records from this system 

may be shared with a requesting 

individual, or representative thereof, for 

purposes of obtaining such information 

so long as the information is relevant to 

a pending transaction of an FCC-issued 

license. 

3. FCC Enforcement Actions—When a 

record in this system involves an 

informal complaint filed alleging a 

violation of FCC Rules and Regulations 

by an applicant, licensee, certified or 

regulated entity, or an unlicensed 

person or entity, the complaint may be 

provided to the alleged violator for a 

response. Where a complainant in filing 

his or her complaint explicitly requests 

confidentiality of his or her name from 

public disclosure, the Commission will 

endeavor to protect such information 

from public disclosure. Complaints that 

contain requests for confidentiality may 

be dismissed if the Commission 

determines that the request impedes the 

Commission’s ability to investigate and/ 

or resolve the complaint. 

4. Litigation—To disclose records to 

the Department of Justice (DOJ) when: 

(a) the FCC or any component thereof; 

(b) any employee of the FCC in his or 

her official capacity; (c) any employee of 

the FCC in his or her individual 

capacity where the DOJ or the FCC has 

agreed to represent the employee; or (d) 

the United States Government is a party 

to litigation or has an interest in such 

litigation, and by careful review, the 

FCC determines that the records are 

both relevant and necessary to the 

litigation, and the use of such records by 

the Department of Justice is for a 

purpose that is compatible with the 

purpose for which the FCC collected the 

records. 

5. Adjudication—To disclose records 

in a proceeding before a court or 

adjudicative body, when: (a) the FCC or 

any component thereof; or (b) any 

employee of the FCC in his or her 

official capacity; or (c) any employee of 

the FCC in his or her individual 

capacity; or (d) the United States 

Government, is a party to litigation or 

has an interest in such litigation, and by 

careful review, the FCC determines that 

the records are both relevant and 

necessary to the litigation, and that the 

use of such records is for a purpose that 

is compatible with the purpose for 

which the agency collected the records. 

6. Law Enforcement and 

Investigation—When the FCC 

investigates any violation or potential 

violation of a civil or criminal law, 

regulation, policy, executed consent 

decree, order, or any other type of 

compulsory obligation, to disclose 

pertinent information as it deems 

necessary to the target of an 

investigation, as well as with the 

appropriate Federal, State, local, Tribal, 

international, or multinational agencies, 

or a component of such an agency, 

responsible for investigating, 

prosecuting, enforcing, or implementing 

a statute, rule, regulation, or order. 

7. Congressional Inquiries—To 

provide information to a Congressional 

office from the record of an individual 

in response to an inquiry from that 

Congressional office made at the written 

request of that individual. 

8. Government-wide Program 

Management and Oversight—To the 

Department of Justice (DOJ) to obtain 

that department’s advice regarding 

disclosure obligations under the 

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA); or 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) to obtain that office’s advice 

regarding obligations under the Privacy 

Act. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 201 / Thursday, October 19, 2023 / Notices 72073 

9. Breach Notification—To 

appropriate agencies, entities, and 

persons when: (a) the Commission 

suspects or has confirmed that there has 

been a breach of the system of records; 

(b) the Commission has determined that 

as a result of the suspected or confirmed 

compromise there is a risk of harm to 

individuals, the Commission (including 

its information systems, programs, and 

operations), the Federal Government, or 

national security; and (c) 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. 

10. Assistance to Federal Agencies 

and Entities Related to Breaches—To 

another Federal agency or Federal 

entity, when the Commission 

determines that information from this 

system is reasonably necessary to assist 

the recipient agency or entity in: (a) 

responding to a suspected or confirmed 

breach or (b) preventing, minimizing, or 

remedying the risk of harm to 

individuals, the recipient agency or 

entity (including its information 

systems, program, and operations), the 

Federal Government, or national 

security, resulting from a suspected or 

confirmed breach. 

11. Non-Federal Personnel—To 

disclose information to non-Federal 

personnel, including contractors, other 

vendors (e.g., identity verification 

services), grantees, and volunteers who 

have been engaged to assist the FCC in 

the performance of a service, grant, 

cooperative agreement, or other activity 

related to this system of records and 

who need to have access to the records 

in order to perform their activity. 

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF

RECORDS: 

Information in this information 

system consists of: 

1. Electronic records, files, and data 

are stored in the FCC’s computer 

network databases, at headquarters; and 

2. Paper records, documents, and files 

are stored in filing cabinets in the EB 

office suites at headquarters and in field 

offices (on an ad hoc, temporary basis 

when needed to resolve enforcement 

cases in their jurisdictions as needed for 

limited periods). 

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF

RECORDS: 

1. Information in the electronic 

database information can be retrieved by 

the name(s) of the individual(s) who 

filed the complaint(s), the individual 

who is subject of the complaint, and by 

a unique file number assigned to each 

type of activity conducted by the 

Bureau, e.g., internal initiative 

investigations, complaint investigations, 

cases, market dispute mediations, 

formal adjudications, hearings, due 

diligence requests, etc. 

2. Information in the central files, 

which includes, but is not limited to, 

paper documents, records, and files, 

includes all the other information 

pertaining to these internal initiative 

investigations, complainant 

investigations, and/or cases. This 

information may include, but is not 

limited to, name, address, and 

telephone number, and is maintained 

for reference and archival purposes. 

This information is retrieved by a 

unique identification file number 

assigned to each internal initiative 

investigation, complainant 

investigation, and/or case. 

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND

DISPOSAL OF RECORDS: 

The information in this electronic 

system is maintained and disposed of in 

accordance with the National Archives 

and Records Administration (NARA) 

General Records Schedule No. DAA– 

0173–2014–0002–0002. 

ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL

SAFEGUARDS: 

The electronic records, data, and files 

are maintained in the FCC computer 

network databases at headquarters, 

which are protected by the FCC’s IT 

privacy safeguards, a comprehensive 

and dynamic set of IT safety and 

security protocols and features that are 

designed to meet all Federal IT privacy 

standards, including those required by 

the National Institute of Standard and 

Technology (NIST) and the Federal 

Information Security Modernization Act 

of 2014 (FISMA). The paper documents 

and files are maintained in file cabinets 

in ‘‘non-public’’ rooms in the EB office 

suite at headquarters and in field 

offices. The file cabinets are locked at 

the end of the business day. Access to 

the EB offices at both headquarters and 

field offices is via a key and card-coded 

door. 

Authorized EB supervisors and staff 

have access to the information in both 

the electronic files databases and paper 

document files, and IT contractors, who 

maintain these electronic files 

databases, also have access to them. 

Other FCC employees, interns, and 

contractors may be granted access to the 

information in the electronic and paper 

formats only on a ‘‘need-to-know’’ basis. 

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES: 

Under the authority granted to heads 

of agencies by 5 U.S.C. 552a(k), the FCC 

has determined that this system of 

records is exempt from providing record 

access procedures for this system of 

records, 47 CFR 0.561. 

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES: 

Under the authority granted to heads 

of agencies by 5 U.S.C. 552a (k), the FCC 

has determined that this system of 

records is exempt from providing 

contesting record procedures for this 

system of records, 47 CFR 0.561. 

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES: 

Under the authority granted to heads 

of agencies by 5 U.S.C. 552a(k), the FCC 

has determined that this system of 

records is exempt from providing 

notification procedures for this system 

of records. 47 CFR 0.561. 

EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM: 

This system of records is exempt from 

sections (c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (H), 

and (I), and (f) of the Privacy Act of 

1974, and from 47 CFR 0.554–0.557 of 

the Commission’s rules. These 

provisions concern the notification, 

record access, and contesting 

procedures described above, and also 

the publication of record sources. The 

system is exempt from these provisions 

because it contains investigative 

material compiled for law enforcement 

purposes as defined in Section (k) of the 

Privacy Act. 

HISTORY: 

(88 FR 42364) (June 30, 2023). 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene Dortch, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2023–23101 Filed 10–18–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

[FR ID: 179693] 

Privacy Act of 1974; System of 

Records. 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of a modified system of 

records. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Communications 

Commission (FCC, Commission, or 

Agency) proposes to modify an existing 

system of records, FCC/WTB–6, 

Archival Radio Operator Records, 

subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, as 

amended. This action is necessary to 

meet the requirements of the Privacy 

Act to publish in the Federal Register 

notice of the existence and character of 

records maintained by the agency. The 


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