UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

BEFORE THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 

COMMISSIONERS: Lina M. Khan, Chair 

 Rebecca Kelly Slaughter 

 Christine S. Wilson

 Alvaro M. Bedoya 

FTC Matter No. P227704 

ORDER TO FILE A SPECIAL REPORT 

Pursuant to a resolution of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “the Commission”) 

dated [DATE], entitled “Resolution Directing Use of Compulsory Process to Collect Information 

Regarding Small Business Credit Report Product Providers’ Practices,” a copy of which is 

enclosed, [COMPANY NAME], hereinafter referred to as the “Company,” is ordered to file with 

the Commission, no later than 60 days after date of service, a Special Report containing the 

information and Documents specified herein. 

The Commission is seeking information concerning the policies, procedures, and 

practices of Small Business Credit Report Product providers, including the method and manner 

in which they collect, use, analyze, verify, report, and market information about Entities, and 

Small Business Credit Report Product providers’ marketing practices for products that purport to 

enable entities to monitor or supplement the information reported about them. The Special 

Report will assist the Commission in conducting a study of such policies, practices, procedures, 

products, services, and marketing. 

The Special Report is required to be subscribed and sworn by an official of the Company 

who has prepared or supervised the preparation of the report from books, records, 

correspondence, and other data and material in Your possession. E-signatures or wet-ink 

signatures are acceptable for the certification of accuracy. 

You are required to respond to this Order using information in Your possession, custody, 

or control, including information maintained in a central data repository to which You have 

access. You should not seek any responsive information and data from separately incorporated 

subsidiaries or affiliates or from individuals (other than in their capacity as Your employee or as 

Your agent). However, You should provide information from separately incorporated 

subsidiaries or affiliates or from individuals if You already have possession, custody, or control 

of such information. No later than [two weeks after issuance], You should contact Commission 

staff and indicate whether all of the information required to respond to this Order is in Your 

possession, custody, or control. If certain information is not in Your possession, custody, or 

control, no later than [two weeks after issuance], You also must: (1) set forth, both orally and in 

writing, each question or sub-question that You are not able to fully answer because information 

is not in Your possession, custody, or control, and (2) for each, provide the full names and 
 

addresses of all entities or individuals who have possession, custody, or control of such missing 

information. 

Your written report should restate each item of this Order with which the corresponding 

answer is Identified. If any question cannot be answered fully, give the information that is 

available and explain in what respects and why the answer is incomplete. The Special Report 

and all accompanying documentary responses must be Bates-stamped. 

Confidential or privileged commercial or financial information will be reported by the 

Commission on an aggregate or anonymous basis, consistent with Sections 6(f) and 21(d) of the 

FTC Act. Individual submissions responsive to this Order that are marked “confidential” will 

not be disclosed without first giving the Company ten (10) days’ notice of the Commission’s 

intention to do so, except as provided in Sections 6(f) and 21 of the FTC Act. 

SPECIFICATIONS 

Please produce the following information, Documents, and items, consistent with the 

definitions, instructions, and formatting requirements contained in Attachment A. 

Unless otherwise specified, all of the following requests pertain to the Applicable Period. 

Moreover, unless otherwise specified, for each request please describe any relevant changes that 

occurred during the Applicable Period and any relevant changes that You anticipate during the 

next twelve months (including for example, but not limited to, changes to business organization, 

processes, products, and marketing). 

In addition, unless otherwise specified, all specifications pertain to Your operations in or 

affecting the United States, including products and services that You market to Entities in the 

United States and information that You gather, generate, maintain, and report about Entities in 

the United States. However, to the extent providing a complete response to any specification 

regarding Your operations in or affecting the United States would require information pertaining 

to Your operations outside the United States or Your relationships with counterparts outside the 

United States, Your response must include that information. 

Identification of Report Author(s) 

1. Identify by full name, business address, telephone number, and official capacity the 

individual(s) who prepared or supervised the preparation of the Company’s response 

to this Order, and describe the steps taken by the Company to respond to this Order. 

For each specification, Identify the individual(s) who assisted in preparation of the 

response. 

Corporate Information 

2. State the Company’s full name, its primary mailing address in the United States, all 

physical addresses in the United States from which it does or has done business, and 

its date and state of formation in the United States. 

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3. Describe the Company’s corporate structure, and state the names of all parents, 

subsidiaries, affiliated business entities, divisions, branches, other types of business 

units, joint ventures, and operations under assumed names. For each such business 

entity or business unit, provide its full name and address. For purposes of this 

specification, include business entities or business units outside the United States. 

4. For each business entity or business unit named in Your response to Specification 3 

that had any involvement in gathering, compiling, analyzing, reviewing, maintaining, 

or producing Business Credit Report Data or Business Credit Scores during the 

Applicable Period, Identify the business entity or business unit and provide a brief 

description of its involvement in any such activity. 

5. For each business entity or business unit named in Your response to Specification 3 

that had any involvement in promoting, marketing, developing, researching, 

maintaining, offering for sale, selling, or distributing Business Credit Reporting 

Products during the Applicable Period, Identify the business entity or business unit 

and provide a brief description of the involvement. 

Data Collection, Generation, and Reporting Practices 

6. Produce representative samples of any introductory or training materials that You 

provide to new hires or to sales employees that describe in introductory or general 

terms: 

a. Your Business Credit Reporting Products; 

b. Your processes for gathering, generating, maintaining, analyzing, and 

reporting Business Credit Data; and 

c. Business Credit Scores that You report. 

Basic Information 

7. Describe in Detail Your processes for gathering, generating, and organizing data 

Relating to Entities’ Basic Information. Include in Your response a description of the 

measures You employ to monitor and evaluate the quality of these processes, and a 

description of any measures You employ to resolve conflicting or inconsistent data 

gathered or generated about an Entity. Also include in Your response the Identity of 

all third parties with whom You have agreements to provide You with this 

information, and describe Your processes for selecting and evaluating such third 

parties. 

8. Describe in Detail every step You take to ensure that the Basic Information that You 

publish or report about Entities is accurate and current. Your response should include 

descriptions of: 

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a. any measures You employ to update or test the accuracy and recency of 

underlying data previously gathered or generated; 

b. any measures You employ to update or test the accuracy and recency of Basic 

Information previously published or reported; 

c. any corrective measures You employ when You determine that You have 

reported or published inaccurate or obsolete data; and 

d. any measures You employ to evaluate and act upon any Entity’s assertion that 

You are reporting incorrect or obsolete Basic Information. 

Public Record Information 

9. Describe in Detail Your processes for gathering, generating, and organizing data 

Relating to Entities’ Public Record Information. Include in Your response a 

description of the measures You employ to monitor and evaluate the quality of these 

processes, and a description of any measures You employ to resolve conflicting or 

inconsistent data gathered or generated about an Entity. Also include in Your 

response the Identity of all third parties with whom You have agreements to provide 

You with this information, and describe Your processes for selecting and evaluating 

such third parties. 

10. Describe in Detail every step You take to ensure that the Public Record Information 

that You publish or report about Entities is accurate and current. Your response 

should include descriptions of: 

a. Any measures You employ to update or test the accuracy and recency of 

underlying data previously gathered or generated; 

b. Any measures You employ to update or test the accuracy and recency of 

Public Record Information previously published or reported; 

c. any corrective measures You employ when You determine that You have 

reported or published inaccurate or obsolete data; and 

d. any measures You employ to evaluate and act upon any Entity’s assertion that 

You are reporting incorrect or obsolete Public Record Information. 

Data Contributor Information 

11. State the number of Data Contributors with which You currently have Data 

Contribution Agreements. In addition, if the number of Your Data Contributors has 

varied during the Applicable Period, provide the range over which the number has 

fluctuated during the Applicable Period. 

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12. Describe the forms and range of compensation (monetary and non-monetary) You 

provide to Data Contributors in exchange for contributing data to You. For each of 

calendar years 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022, state the total amount of money You paid 

to Your Data Contributors and state (or provide Your estimate of) the total value of 

non-monetary compensation You provided or made available to Your Data 

Contributors. 

13. Produce one unique copy of each materially different form of Data Contribution 

Agreement You currently have with Your Data Contributors. 

14. Describe any criteria or eligibility requirements that an Entity must meet to enter into 

a Data Contribution Agreement with You, and describe Your reasons for establishing 

these criteria and any underlying reports or research supporting these criteria. 

Examples of such criteria or eligibility requirements include (but are not limited to) 

any requirement that a Data Contributor provide data on a minimum number of active 

accounts, or that the Data Contributor has been in business for a certain amount of 

time. If You have different eligibility requirements for different types of Data 

Contribution Agreements, describe the criteria applicable to each type of Data 

Contribution Agreement. 

15. If there are categories or types of Entities that You refuse to accept as Data 

Contributors, even if the Entity might otherwise meet the appropriate criteria or 

eligibility requirements, describe all such categories or types of Entities, and describe 

Your reasons for refusing to accept them as Data Contributors. Examples could 

include (but are not limited to) commercial landlords, credit card issuers, and utility 

companies. 

16. Produce all marketing materials or other Documents You provide to Data 

Contributors or potential Data Contributors that describe or Relate to the nature of 

Your relationship with Data Contributors, including Documents describing benefits of 

becoming Your Data Contributor and outlining the process of contributing data to 

You. 

17. Describe in Detail the processes by which Data Contributors provide You with data 

pursuant to Data Contribution Agreements, and state the frequency with which the 

data is provided or collected (monthly, quarterly, etc.). 

18. Describe in Detail the measures You employ to monitor and evaluate the quality of 

processes by which Data Contributors provide You with data, and a description of 

any measures You employ to resolve conflicting or inconsistent data gathered or 

generated about any Entity through such processes. 

19. Describe in Detail every step You take to ensure that the information You report that 

comes from Data Contributors (and information You report that is based on 

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information that comes from Data Contributors) is accurate and current. Your 

response should include descriptions of: 

a. any measures You employ to update or test the accuracy and recency of 

underlying data previously gathered or generated; 

b. any measures You employ to update or test the accuracy and recency of 

information previously published or reported; 

c. any corrective measures You employ when You determine that You have 

reported or published inaccurate or obsolete data; 

d. whether and how You disclose to Entities information about the bases for 

Data Contributor Information You report about them (such as identifying 

information about the Data Contributor, dates of transactions and payments, 

and amounts of transactions), including whether You make information about 

those bases available for a fee or through any product You offer; and 

e. any measures You employ to evaluate and act upon any Entity’s assertion that 

You are reporting incorrect or obsolete Data Contributor Information. 

Alternative Data 

20. List and describe other categories of Business Credit Report Data You gather, 

maintain, or analyze. Examples of such other categories include, but are not limited 

to, financial institution account data and social media data. 

21. For each category of data listed in Your response to Specification 20, Describe in 

Detail Your processes for gathering and generating it. Include in Your response the 

Identity of all third parties with whom You have agreements to provide or make 

available this data and describe Your processes for selecting and evaluating such third 

parties. 

Business Credit Scores and Business Credit Report Data 

22. List and describe all Business Credit Scores that can be included in Your business 

credit reports, and describe all factors, information, and data included in arriving at 

each particular Business Credit Score. Your response must include descriptions of: 

a. whether and how an Entity’s use of a Business Credit Monitoring and 

Managing Product can affect any of the Business Credit Scores that You 

report about that Entity; 

b. whether and how an Entity’s purchase of a Monitoring and Managing Product 

may itself impact any of the Business Credit Scores that You report about that 

6 
Entity, independent of whether that Entity uses features or functionality of the 

Monitoring and Managing Product; 

c. whether and how the absence of relevant Basic Information, Public Record 

Information, or Data Contributor Information about an Entity may impact any 

of the Business Credit Scores that You report about that Entity; 

d. whether and how inferences drawn from underlying data, such as inferences 

made based on an Entity’s location or length of time in business, may impact 

any of the Business Credit Scores that You report about an Entity; and 

e. whether and how alternative data listed in Your response to Specification 20 is 

incorporated into Business Credit Scores. 

23. Describe in Detail any algorithms, machine learning, or other automated systems that 

You use in Relation to Business Credit Report Data. (You may exclude from Your 

response to this specification any algorithms, machine learning, or other automated 

systems that You Describe in Detail elsewhere in Your responses.) Although this 

specification is not limited to the following specific data categories, Your response 

should at least address each of the following categories: 

a. Basic Information; 

b. Public Records Information; 

c. Data Contributor Information; 

d. Self-Reported Payment Information (if applicable); 

e. alternative data listed in Your response to Specification 20 (if applicable); and 

f. Business Credit Scores. 

24. Describe in Detail Your processes for updating Business Credit Report Data and the 

frequency with which those processes run. Although this specification is not limited 

to the following specific data categories, Your response should at least address each 

of the following categories: 

a. Basic Information; 

b. Public Records Information; 

c. Data Contributor Information; 

d. Self-Reported Payment Information (if applicable); 

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e. alternative data listed in Your response to Specification 20 (if applicable); and 

f. Business Credit Scores. 

25. For each of Your Business Reports, describe the length of time (or range of lengths of 

time) required for updates to Business Credit Report Data to be reflected in the 

information reported in the Business Report. 

26. Describe in Detail the steps You take to ensure that algorithms and automated 

systems that You use Relating to Business Credit Report Data do not contribute to 

unjustified different treatment or impacts disfavoring women-owned, minorityowned, veteran-owned, and rural businesses. Your response should include, but not 

be limited to, whether and how You do the following: 

a. evaluate potential algorithmic discrimination caused by automated systems 

You use; 

b. mitigate or eliminate any algorithmic discrimination You find; and 

c. regularly monitor automated systems to assess algorithmic discrimination that 

might arise from proxies, from unforeseen factors, or from changes to systems 

or processes. 

Business Credit Monitoring and Managing Products 

27. List and describe all free-of-charge processes for Entities to view their own Business 

Report, or information You report about them. Do not include in Your response 

products or services that include a free trial, but that ultimately have a fee. 

a. If You allow Entities to view only portions of their business credit report at no 

charge, describe the portions of or information in their business credit report 

that Entities are, and are not, able to view. 

b. If You offer any Monitoring and Managing Products free of charge, list and 

describe them in Your response. 

28. Provide and describe any metrics You track regarding Entities’ use of the free-ofcharge processes listed in Your response to Specification 27. If You track Entities’ 

use of the free-of-charge processes, state whether such usage triggers marketing 

efforts for paid products, and if so, list the products marketed, the manner in which 

they are marketed, and state the percentage of Entities that purchased a Monitoring 

and Managing Product either as a result of such marketing efforts (if You track such 

results) or within one week of such marketing efforts (if You do not otherwise track 

such results). For any such marketing efforts made by telephone, produce 

representative samples of all telemarketing scripts, guides, or talking points; for any 

8 
such marketing efforts made by mail or email or other electronic message, produce 

representative samples of all written materials or messages. 

29. List and describe all free-of-charge processes for Entities to make or request changes 

to any information You report about them. Your response should include (but not be 

limited to) any free-of-charge Monitoring and Managing Products that include such 

features. Your response must include, but need not be limited to, descriptions of freeof-charge processes by which an Entity may make or request changes to the following 

types of information You report about that Entity: 

a. Basic Information; 

b. Public Record Information; 

c. Data Contributor Information; and 

d. Business Credit Scores. 

30. Describe how You make information available to Entities or otherwise inform them 

of the processes described in Your response to Specification 29, above. In connection 

with Your response: 

a. if You inform Entities in written materials, produce a copy of the written 

materials; 

b. if You inform Entities online, produce the screenshot(s) and provide the 

website address(es); and 

c. if You inform Entities by telephone, produce representative samples of all 

telemarketing scripts, guides, or talking points. 

31. If You charge Entities a fee for a one-time view or copy of all or part of their own 

Business Report, or of information You report about them, list and describe the 

applicable fee structure and information available, and provide gross sales revenues 

and number of units sold for calendar 2022. 

32. List and describe all Monitoring and Managing Products that You offer for a fee to 

Entities, and state the purchase price for each, including any activation, initial, 

monthly, annual, or other recurring fee, and any usage-based fees, as applicable. 

33. Produce one unique copy of each materially different form of agreement and set of 

terms and conditions applicable to each Monitoring and Managing Product listed in 

Your response to Specification 32. 

34. For any Monitoring and Managing Product that includes or provides access to a SelfReporting Mechanism, describe the process by which a customer uses the Self9 
Reporting Mechanism, including (if applicable) representative sample screenshots 

illustrating the customer’s process experience. 

35. For any Monitoring and Managing Product that includes or provides access to a SelfReporting Mechanism, describe all categories or types of Entities from which You do 

not accept payment history data and describe Your reasons for declining to accept 

data from them. Examples could include (but are not limited to) Entities that You 

have placed on a do-not-contact list, commercial landlords, credit card issuers, and 

utility companies. 

36. If You use any of the following terms in Relation to Your Monitoring and Managing 

Products, and if You use definitions or parameters to describe what the terms 

encompass (alone or in combination), set forth the definitions or parameters that You 

use for each term. If You use the terms differently for different business purposes or 

in other contexts in Relation to Your Business Credit Reporting Products, also set 

forth the different definitions or parameters that You use for those purposes or in 

those contexts: 

a. small business; 

b. new business; 

c. medium-sized (or mid-sized) business; and 

d. growing business. 

37. Produce representative samples of all marketing materials Relating to Your 

Monitoring and Managing Products regardless of whether the products are free or not. 

Your response must include representative samples of all marketing materials that use 

the terms “small business,” “new business,” “medium-sized business,” or “growing 

business,” or any variations thereon, regardless of whether You define those terms. 

38. Describe each specific advertising or marketing method for Your Monitoring and 

Managing Products and provide the total number and total dollar amounts of sales 

attributable to each specific advertising or marketing method for calendar year 2022. 

If sales occur online, provide representative samples (including text and images) of 

all webpages used to promote and effect sales. 

39. If You use telemarketing to market Monitoring and Managing Products, provide 

representative samples of all telemarketing scripts, guides, talking points, training 

materials, and instructions. Your response must include representative samples of all 

marketing materials that use the terms “small business,” “new business,” “mediumsized business,” or “growing business,” or any variations thereon, regardless of 

whether You define those terms. 

10 
40. Identify all third parties with whom You have agreements to offer or market 

Monitoring and Managing Products, and describe Your processes for selecting and 

evaluating such third parties. Provide representative samples of all third-party 

marketing materials that use the terms “small business,” “new business,” “mediumsized business,” or “growing business,” or any variations thereon, regardless of 

whether You define those terms. 

41. Produce all user experience research Relating to Your Monitoring and Managing 

Products and their marketing, whether the products are free or not. Your production 

should include any qualitative or quantitative research pertaining to any aspect of the 

user experience, and should include (but not be limited to) A/B testing, observations 

from use data, user surveys, user groups or focus groups, and user interviews. 

42. Produce all post-mortems or retrospectives Relating to any Monitoring and Managing 

Product or any feature within a Monitoring and Managing Product, including but not 

limited to any analyses Relating to the launch or retirement of any such product or 

feature. Responsive analyses include (but are not limited to) analyses pertaining to 

sales, usage, and functionality. 

43. Produce all periodic business reviews Relating to Your Monitoring and Managing 

Products. 

44. Produce all analyses Relating to how any of Your Monitoring and Managing 

Products, or any feature within a Monitoring and Managing Product, compares to any 

similar product or feature offered by another firm. 

45. For all Monitoring and Managing Products that include or provide access to a SelfReporting Mechanism, provide the following information for calendar 2022: 

a. the total number of Self-Reporting Mechanism customer attempts to have 

Self-Reported Payment Information added to Your Business Credit Report 

Data about the customer; and 

b. the total number of times that such attempts resulted in You adding SelfReported Payment Information to Your Business Credit Report Data about the 

customer. 

46. Describe in Detail any algorithms, machine learning, or other automated systems You 

use to predict or verify information provided by an Entity through any processes or 

products described in Your responses to Specifications 29 and 32. 

47. Describe the steps You take to ensure that the algorithms You use in Relation to 

reporting Basic Information, Public Record Information, and Business Credit Scores 

are explainable to Entities purchasing Monitoring and Managing Products. Include in 

Your response a description of whether You inform Entities purchasing Monitoring 

and Managing Products about any of the following: 

11 
 

 

a. limitations of each algorithm and its outputs, including any factors that could 

affect the accuracy of the algorithm; 

b. the factors that an algorithm relied on in producing or arriving at a particular 

determination and the weighting of each factor; and 

c. the limitations of Monitoring and Managing Products to affect Basic 

Information, Public Record Information, and Business Credit Scores that You 

report about the Entity. 

48. Provide Your gross sales revenues and numbers of units sold for Your Monitoring 

and Managing Products, including collectively and by product, for each of calendar 

years 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. 

49. To the extent that You have tracked profitability data for Your Monitoring and 

Managing Products, including collectively and by product, provide such data for each 

of calendar years 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. 

50. To the extent that You track sales revenues, numbers of units sold, or profitability for 

any of Your Monitoring and Managing Products broken down by particular elements 

of the market for these products, provide those breakdowns for each of calendar years 

2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. Examples of such breakdowns include, but are not 

limited to, sales that You track by customer characteristics such as: 

a. business location; 

b. business classification; 

c. business size (e.g., small or medium sized businesses); 

d. business revenue; 

e. length of time in business; 

f. public sector (government); and 

g. non-profit or for-profit status. 

Business Reports 

51. List and describe the Business Reports You offer, and produce representative samples 

of reports. 

52. Describe the marketing processes by which You offer each Business Report listed in 

Your response to Specification 51, above, for instance, through telephone calls 

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(specify whether inbound and/or outbound), online (produce a screenshot and provide 

the web address), and by email or mail solicitation. 

53. State the purchase price for each Business Report listed in Your response to 

Specification 51, above, and whether it is a one-time, monthly, annual, or other 

recurring fee. 

54. Produce representative samples of all marketing materials You use for each Business 

Report listed in Your response to Specification 51, above. Your response must 

include representative samples of all marketing materials that use the terms “small 

business,” “new business,” “medium-sized business,” or “growing business,” or any 

variations thereon, regardless of whether You define those terms. 

55. If You use telemarketing to market Your Business Reports, provide representative 

samples of all telemarketing scripts, guides, talking points, training materials and 

instructions. Your response must include representative samples of all marketing 

materials that use the terms “small business,” “new business,” “medium-sized 

business,” or “growing business,” or any variations thereon, regardless of whether 

You define those terms. 

56. To the extent that You have Business Report marketing materials that are directed to 

particular segments of the market, provide representative samples of such materials in 

each segment category for each product. Examples of such segment categories 

include, but are not limited to: 

a. financial institutions; 

b. other business classifications; 

c. business size (e.g., small businesses); 

d. business revenue; 

e. length of time in business; 

f. public sector (government); and 

g. non-profit sector. 

57. To the extent that You have marketing materials that promote any Business Reports 

for specific categories of use purposes, provide representative samples of such 

materials in each use purpose category for each product. Examples of such use 

purpose categories include, but are not limited to: 

a. trade credit decision making; 

13 
 

b. fraud prevention; 

c. vendor or supplier selection; 

d. equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives; 

e. evaluation of proposals or bids; and 

f. grantmaking decisions and evaluation of grant applications. 

58. Provide Your gross sales revenues and numbers of units sold for Your Business 

Reports, including collectively and by product, for each of calendar years 2019, 2020, 

2021, and 2022. 

59. To the extent that You track profitability data for Your Business Reports, including 

collectively and by product, provide such data for each of calendar years 2019, 2020, 

2021, and 2022. 

60. To the extent that You track sales revenues, numbers of units sold, or profitability for 

any of Your Business Reports broken down by particular elements of the market for 

these products, provide those breakdowns for each of calendar years 2019, 2020, 

2021, and 2022. Examples of such breakdowns include, but are not limited to, sales 

that You track by customer characteristics such as: 

a. business location; 

b. business classification (including, specifically, sales to financial institutions); 

c. business size (e.g., small or medium sized businesses); 

d. business revenue; 

e. length of time in business; 

f. public sector (government); and 

g. non-profit sector. 

61. Describe the steps You take to ensure that the algorithms You use in Relation to 

reporting Basic Information, Publicly Reported Information, and Business Credit 

Scores are explainable to Entities purchasing Business Reports. Include in Your 

response a description of whether You inform Entities purchasing Business Reports 

about any of the following: 

a. limitations of each algorithm and its outputs, including any factors that could 

affect the accuracy of the algorithm; and 

14 
 

b. the factors that an algorithm relied on in producing or arriving at a particular 

determination and the weighting of each factor. 

62. State whether You disclose to Business Report customers that the subject of an 

Entity-specific report that they are purchasing is a customer of a Monitoring and 

Managing Product. If You disclose this information in writing, produce 

representative samples of such disclosure, providing the full context in which You 

make the disclosure. In responding to this specification, please note that a general 

disclosure that a subject of an Entity-specific report may be a customer of a 

Monitoring and Managing Product is not the same as a specific disclosure as to 

whether the Entity is such a customer. 

63. State whether You disclose to Business Report customers that information in an 

Entity-specific report includes Self-Reported Payment Information. If You disclose 

this information in writing, produce representative samples of such disclosure, 

providing the full context in which You make the disclosure. In responding to this 

specification, please note that a general disclosure that information in an Entityspecific report may include Self-Reported Payment Information is not the same as a 

specific disclosure as to whether the report includes such information. 

64. State whether You disclose to Business Report customers whether the absence of 

information in Your records about the subject of an Entity-specific report has an 

effect on any of its Business Credit Scores. If You disclose this information in 

writing, produce representative samples of such disclosure, providing the full context 

in which You make the disclosure. 

65. State whether You have any practices or product features to provide updates, 

corrections, or errata to Business Report customers in situations where You revise or 

correct information about an Entity after the Business Report customer obtains a 

report from You about the Entity. If You have any such practices or product features, 

describe them, including in Your description the circumstances under which You will 

issue such updates, corrections, or errata, and whether there is any additional charge 

for the service. 

15 
 

ATTACHMENT A 

DEFINITIONS 

D-1. “Applicable Period” means the time from January 1, 2022 through the present unless 

otherwise directed. 

D-2. “Basic Information” means identifying information about an Entity such as the Entity’s 

name, address, owner information, number of employees, time in business, and type of business. 

D-3. “Business Credit Monitoring and Managing Products” or “Monitoring and 

Managing Products” includes all products and services offered to help Entities access, monitor, 

or manage their credit report or any of the Business Credit Report Data that You maintain or 

publish about them. The term does not include Entities’ standalone purchases of one-time views 

or copies of their own credit reports. 

D-4. “Business Credit Report Data” includes all data that You gather, compile, analyze, 

review, generate, and maintain for the purpose of or in the course of producing Business Reports. 

The term includes, but is not limited to, Basic Information, Public Record Information, Data 

Contributor Information, Self-Reported Payment Information (if applicable), and Business Credit 

Scores. 

D-5. “Business Credit Reporting Products” includes all Business Reports and all Business 

Credit Monitoring and Managing Products. 

D-6. “Business Credit Scores” includes all scores and ratings that You assign to any Entity 

and make available for purchase. 

D-7. “Business Reports” includes all products and services offered to assist customer Entities 

in gathering identifying and risk-related information about other Entities and to assist customer 

Entities in making business decisions pertaining to other Entities. The term includes, but is not 

limited to, all products that You market or describe as business credit reports. 

D-8. “Company,” “You,” or “Your” means [COMPANY NAME], its wholly or partially 

owned subsidiaries, unincorporated divisions, joint ventures, operations under assumed names, 

and affiliates, and all directors, officers, members, employees, agents, consultants, and other 

persons working for or on behalf of the foregoing. 

D-9. “Data Contribution Agreement” means any arrangement by which an Entity agrees to 

periodically provide data to You regarding accounts receivable pertaining to other Entities with 

which it does business, or regarding other forms of credit it extends to other Entities with which 

it does business. 

D-10. “Data Contributor” means an Entity that provides You with data in accordance with a 

Data Contribution Agreement. 

16 
D-11. “Data Contributor Information” means information provided to You by a Data 

Contributor about any Entity other than the Data Contributor itself. 

D-12. “Describe in Detail” means providing the information requested in narrative form, 

including an explanation of each material change, if any, made during the Applicable Period 

Relating to the practices described, as well as the effective date(s) of the change(s) and the 

reason(s) for such change(s). As applied to any business process (including any data 

management process), the term also means describing the various roles of people and automated 

systems in the process. It further requires You to Identify each business entity or business unit 

involved in the process (including any third-party business entity with which You contract) and 

to describe that business entity or business unit’s role in the process. 

D-13. “Document” means the complete original, all drafts, and any non-identical copy, whether 

different from the original because of notations on the copy, different metadata, or otherwise, of 

any item covered by 15 U.S.C. § 57b-1(a)(5), 16 C.F.R. § 2.7(a)(2), or Federal Rule of Civil 

Procedure 34(a)(1)(A). 

D-14. “Entity” means all businesses or other organizations, and includes federal, state, and 

local government agencies, municipalities, school districts, fire and police departments, and nonprofit organizations. The term does not refer to individual natural persons. 

D-15. “Identify” or “the Identity of” requires identification of (a) natural persons by name, 

title, present business affiliation, present business address, telephone number, and email address 

or, if a present business affiliation or present business address is not known, the last known 

business and home addresses; and (b) businesses or other organizations by name, address, and 

the identities of Your contact persons at the business or organization. 

D-16. “Order” shall mean the Order, including the attached Resolution, Specifications, and 

Attachment. 

D-17. “Public Record Information” includes publicly available data such as judgments, tax 

liens, and UCC filings. 

D-18. “Relate,” “Related to,” “in Relation to,” and “Relating to” mean, in whole or in part, 

addressing, analyzing, concerning, constituting, containing, commenting on, discussing, 

describing, Identifying, referring to, reflecting, reporting on, stating, or dealing with. 

D-19. “Self-Reported Payment Information” means information or payment data provided to 

You about an Entity as a result of that Entity’s use of a Self-Reporting Mechanism. 

D-20. “Self-Reporting Mechanism” means any process You make available to allow an Entity 

to provide You with additional information Relating to its accounts payable history (or other 

history of an Entity’s own use of credit and payments thereon) that You have not obtained from 

Data Contributors. The term includes any process by which an Entity provides You with names 

or identifying information of third-party Entities with which it does business, or with information 

17 
 

about its payments to such third-party Entities, and any Related processes by which You gather, 

verify, or evaluate payment history information from such third-party Entities. The term does 

not include separate processes by which an Entity may attempt to correct information about that 

Entity that You have obtained from Data Contributors, nor does it include separate processes by 

which an Entity may seek to provide You with, or correct Your reporting of, that Entity’s Basic 

Information or Public Record Information. 

18 
ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS 

I-1. Meet and Confer: You are encouraged to contact Harris Senturia at (216) 326-3420 as 

soon as possible to schedule a meeting (telephonic or in person) to confer regarding Your 

response. 

I-2. Responses to Specifications 11, 12, 31, 32, 45, 48-50, and 58-60: The Company must 

fill in its responses to these Specifications, in part, in one or more spreadsheets that staff will 

provide after the meet-and-confer discussions. 

I-3. Modification of Specifications: If You believe that the scope of the required search or 

response for any specification can be narrowed consistent with the Commission’s need for 

documents or information, You are encouraged to discuss such possible modifications, including 

any modifications of definitions and instructions, with the Commission counsel named above. 

I-4. Production in Color: For specifications requesting production of Documents, You must 

produce copies of advertisements and marketing materials in color, and You must produce copies 

of other materials in color if necessary to interpret them or render them intelligible. 

I-5. Production of Materials in Languages Other than English: For specifications 

requesting production of any public-facing or customer-facing materials (including, but not 

limited to, marketing materials, agreements, and website samples), You must produce samples of 

such materials in each language in which You use them in the United States. 

I-6. Electronically Stored Information: See the attached “Federal Trade Commission, 

Bureau of Consumer Protection Production Requirements,” which details all requirements for 

submission of information, generally requiring that files be produced in native form and 

specifying the metadata to be produced. As noted in the attachment, some items require 

discussion with the FTC counsel prior to production, which can be part of the general “Meet and 

Confer” described above. If You would like to arrange a separate discussion involving persons 

specifically familiar with Your electronically stored information (ESI) systems and methods of 

retrieval, make those arrangements with FTC counsel when scheduling the general meet and 

confer discussion 

I-7. Sensitive Personally Identifiable Information (“Sensitive PII”) or Sensitive Health 

Information (“SHI”): If any material called for by these requests contains sensitive Personally 

Identifiable information or sensitive health information of any individual, please contact us 

before sending those materials to discuss ways to protect such information during production. 

For purposes of these requests, sensitive Personally Identifiable information includes: an 

individual’s Social Security number alone; or an individual’s name or address or phone number 

in combination with one or more of the following: date of birth, Social Security number, driver’s 

license number or other state identification number, or a foreign country equivalent, passport 

number, financial account number, credit card number, or debit card number. Sensitive health 

information includes medical records and other individually identifiable health information 

Relating to the past, present, or future physical or mental health or conditions of an individual, 

19 
the provision of health care to an individual, or the past, present, or future payment for the 

provision of health care to an individual. 

I-8. Document Production: Because postal delivery to the Commission is subject to delay 

due to heightened security precautions, please use a courier service such as Federal Express or 

UPS. 

20 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Federal Trade Commission - Bureau of Consumer Protection 

Production Requirements

Revised July 2020 

In producing information to the FTC, comply with the following requirements, unless the FTC 

agrees otherwise. If you have questions about these requirements, please contact FTC counsel 

before production. 

Production Format 

1. General Format: Provide load-ready electronic productions with: 

a. A delimited data load file (.DAT) containing a line for every document, unique id 

number for every document (DocID), metadata fields, and native file links where 

applicable; and 

b. A document level text file, named for the DocID, containing the text of each produced 

document. 

Do not produce corresponding image renderings (e.g., TIFF or JPEG) for files 

in native format unless the FTC requests them. If the FTC requests 

corresponding image renderings, provide an Opticon image load file (.OPT) 

containing a line for every image file. 

2. Electronically Stored Information (ESI): Documents stored in electronic format in the 

ordinary course of business must be produced in the following format: 

a. For ESI other than the categories below, submit in native format with all metadata and 

either document level extracted text or Optical Character Recognition (OCR). Do not 

produce corresponding image renderings (e.g., TIFF or JPEG) for files in native format 

unless the FTC requests them. If the FTC requests corresponding image renderings, 

they should be converted to Group IV, 300 DPI, single-page TIFF (or color JPEG 

images when necessary to interpret the contents or render them intelligible.) 

b. For Microsoft Excel, Access, or PowerPoint files, submit in native format with extracted 

text and metadata. Data compilations in Excel spreadsheets or delimited text formats 

must contain all underlying data, formulas, and algorithms without redaction. 

c. For other spreadsheet, database, presentation, or multimedia formats; instant messages; 

or proprietary applications, discuss the production format with FTC counsel. 

3. Hard Copy Documents: Documents stored in hard copy in the ordinary course of business 

must be scanned and submitted as either one multi-page pdf per document or as 300 DPI 

single page TIFFs (or color JPEGs when necessary to interpret the contents or render them 

intelligible), with corresponding document-level OCR text and logical document 

determination in an accompanying load file. 

4. Document Identification: Provide a unique DocID for each hard copy or electronic document, 

consisting of a prefix and a consistent number of numerals using leading zeros. Do not use a 

space to separate the prefix from numbers. 

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5. Attachments: Preserve the parent/child relationship by producing attachments as separate 

documents, numbering them consecutively to the parent email, and including a reference to all 

attachments. 

6. Metadata Production: For each document submitted electronically, include the standard 

metadata fields listed below in a standard delimited data load file. The first line of the data load 

file shall include the field names. Submit date and time data in separate fields. Use these 

standard Concordance delimiters in delimited data load files: 

Description Symbol ASCII Character 

Field Separator ¶ 20 

Quote Character Þ 254 

Multi Entry delimiter ® 174 

<Return> Value in data ~ 126 

7. De-duplication: Do not use de-duplication or email threading software without FTC approval. 

8. Password-Protected Files: Remove passwords prior to production. If password removal is not 

possible, provide the original and production filenames and the passwords, under separate cover. 

Producing Data to the FTC 

1. Prior to production, scan all data and media for viruses and confirm they are virus-free. 

2. For productions smaller than 50 GB, submit data electronically using the FTC’s secure file 

transfer protocol. Contact FTC counsel for instructions. The FTC cannot accept files via 

Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, or other third-party file transfer sites. 

3. If you submit data using physical media: 

a. Use only CDs, DVDs, flash drives, or hard drives. Format the media for use with 

Windows 7; 

b. Use data encryption to protect any Sensitive Personally Identifiable Information or 

Sensitive Health Information (as defined in the instructions), and provide passwords in 

advance of delivery, under separate cover; and 

c. Use a courier service (e.g., Federal Express, UPS) because heightened security measures 

delay postal delivery. 

4. Provide a transmittal letter with each production that includes: 

a. Production volume name (e.g., Volume 1) and date of production; 

b. Numeric DocID range of all documents in the production, and any gaps in the DocID 

range; and 

c. List of custodians and the DocID range for each custodian. 

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Standard Metadata Fields 

DAT FILE FIELDS DEFINITIONS POPULATE FIELD FOR: 

DocID Unique ID number for each document All Documents 

FamilyID Unique ID for all documents in a family including parent and all child documents All Documents 

ParentID Document ID of the parent document. This field will only be populated on child items All Documents 

File Path Path to produced native file All Documents 

TextPath Path to document level text or OCR file All Documents 

Custodian Name of the record owner/holder All Documents 

AllCustodians Names of all custodians that had copy of this record (populate if data was deduplicated 

or email threading was used) All Documents 

Source Source of documents: CID, Subpoena, Third Party Data, etc. All Documents 

Filename Original file name All Documents 

File Size Size of documents All Documents 

File Extensions Extension of file type All Documents 

MD5 Hash Unique identifier for electronic data used in de-duplication All Documents 

PRODUCTION_VOLUME Production Volume All Documents 

HASREDACTIONS Redacted document All Documents 

Exception Reason Reason for exception encountered during processing (e.g., empty file, source file, 

password-protected file, virus) All Documents 

PRODBEG Beginning production bates number Documents with Produced Images 

PRODEND Ending production bates number Documents with Produced Images 

PRODBEG_ATTACH Beginning production family bates number Documents with Produced Images 

PRODEND_ATTACH Ending production family bates number Documents with Produced Images 

Page Count The number of pages the document contains Documents with Produced Images 

From Names retrieved from the FROM field in a message Emails 

To Names retrieved from the TO field in a message; the recipient(s) Emails 

CC Names retrieved from the CC field in a message; the copied recipient(s) Emails 

BCC Names retrieved from the BCC field in a message; the blind copied recipient(s) Emails 

EmailSubject Email subject line Emails 

Date Sent The date an email message was sent Emails 

Time Sent The time an email message was sent Emails 

Date Received The date an email message was received Emails 

Time Received The time an email message was received Emails 

Author File Author Loose Native Files and Email Attachments 

Title File Title Loose Native Files and Email Attachments 

Subject File Subject Loose Native Files and Email Attachments 

Date Created Date a document was created by the file system Loose Native Files and Email Attachments 

Time Created Time a document was created by the file system Loose Native Files and Email Attachments 

Date Modified Last date a document was modified and recorded by the file system Loose Native Files and Email Attachments 

Time Modified Last time a document was modified and recorded by the file system Loose Native Files and Email Attachments 

Date Printed Last date a document was printed and recorded by the file system Loose Native Files and Email Attachments 

Time Printed Last time a document was printed and recorded by the file system Loose Native Files and Email Attachments 

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