[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 12 (Wednesday, January 19, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2788-2790]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-00938]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

[File No. 172 3196]


Dun & Bradstreet, Inc.; Analysis of Proposed Consent Order to Aid 
Public Comment

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Proposed consent agreement; request for comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged 
violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or 
practices. The attached Analysis of Proposed Consent Order to Aid 
Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft complaint 
and the terms of the consent order--embodied in the consent agreement--
that would settle these allegations.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before February 18, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file comments online or on paper by 
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Please write ``Dun & 
Bradstreet, Inc.; File No. 172 3196'' on your comment and file your 
comment online at https://www.regulations.gov by following the 
instructions on the web-based form. If you prefer to file your comment 
on paper, mail your comment to the following address: Federal Trade 
Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 
CC-5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the 
following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 
Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW, 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex 
D), Washington, DC 20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dana C. Barragate, Attorney (216-263-
3402), Federal Trade Commission, East Central Region, 1111 Superior 
Avenue, Suite 200, Cleveland, OH 44114-2507.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Section 6(f) of the Federal 
Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 2.34, 16 CFR 2.34, 
notice is hereby given that the above-captioned consent agreement 
containing a consent order to cease and desist, having been filed with 
and accepted, subject to final approval, by the Commission, has been 
placed on the public record for a period of thirty (30) days. The 
following Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes the terms of the 
consent agreement and the allegations in the complaint. An electronic 
copy of the full text of the consent agreement package can be obtained 
at https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/commission-actions.
    You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to 
consider your comment, we must receive it on or before February 18, 
2022. Write ``Dun & Bradstreet, Inc.; File No. 172 3196'' on your 
comment. Your comment--

[[Page 2789]]

including your name and your state--will be placed on the public record 
of this proceeding, including, to the extent practicable, on the 
https://www.regulations.gov website.
    Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the agency's heightened security 
screening, postal mail addressed to the Commission will be subject to 
delay. We strongly encourage you to submit your comments online through 
the https://www.regulations.gov website.
    If you prefer to file your comment on paper, write ``Dun & 
Bradstreet, Inc.; File No. 172 3196'' on your comment and on the 
envelope, and mail your comment to the following address: Federal Trade 
Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 
CC-5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC 20580; or deliver your comment to the 
following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 
Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW, 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex 
D), Washington, DC 20024. If possible, submit your paper comment to the 
Commission by courier or overnight service.
    Because your comment will be placed on the publicly accessible 
website at https://www.regulations.gov, you are solely responsible for 
making sure your comment does not include any sensitive or confidential 
information. Your comment should not include 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 your comment does not include 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 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 be filed in paper form, must be clearly labeled 
``Confidential,'' and must 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 on the https://www.regulations.gov website--as legally 
required by FTC Rule 4.9(b)--we cannot redact or remove your comment 
from that website, 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.
    Visit the FTC website at http://www.ftc.gov to read this Notice and 
the news release describing the proposed settlement. 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 February 18, 2022. 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.

Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid Public Comment

    The Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') has 
accepted, subject to final approval, an agreement containing a proposed 
consent order (``Proposed Order'') from Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. 
(``D&B''). The Proposed Order has been placed on the public record for 
30 days to receive comments by interested persons. Comments received 
during this period will become part of the public record. After 30 
days, the Commission will again review the agreement and the comments 
received and will decide whether it should withdraw from the agreement 
and take appropriate action or make final the agreement's Proposed 
Order.
    This matter involves D&B's sale of paid CreditBuilder and related 
products (``CreditBuilder products''). D&B typically marketed 
CreditBuilder products to small and mid-sized businesses (who are the 
consumers in this matter) as a means to improve what D&B reports about 
the business on its commercial credit reports. The FTC's proposed five-
count complaint challenges several of D&B's CreditBuilder sales and 
renewal practices as deceptive, and also alleges that certain conduct 
was unfair, all in violation of Section 5(a) of the Federal Trade 
Commission Act (``FTC Act''), 15 U.S.C. 45(a).
    The first four counts of the proposed complaint allege deceptive 
acts or practices in violation of the FTC Act.
    <bullet> First, the complaint alleges D&B's representations that a 
business could use CreditBuilder products to have previously unreported 
commercial payment experiences added to its credit report, and that D&B 
would actively assist CreditBuilder customers in adding payment 
experiences, were deceptive because, in numerous instances, customers 
did not get payment experiences added, and D&B did not actively assist 
the customer in adding payment experiences.
    <bullet> Second, the complaint alleges D&B made false claims that 
CreditBuilder products were required for D&B to conduct a background 
check on the business or to complete its D&B report, including 
providing the business with a full set of scores and ratings.
    <bullet> Third, the complaint alleges that, in connection with 
collecting updated payment information for CreditBuilder products 
scheduled to renew, D&B sometimes misrepresented that D&B was 
collecting payment for and renewing the product that the business 
purchased the prior term, when, in fact, D&B was collecting payment 
information to enroll the customer in a different product from the one 
to which the customer previously subscribed.
    <bullet> Fourth, the complaint alleges that when D&B collected 
customer credit card information for payment, it failed to adequately 
disclose practices that resulted in recurring and increasing charges, 
including automatic billing.
    In addition to the alleged deceptive marketing and renewal 
practices, the complaint alleges in its fifth count that D&B engaged in 
an unfair practice by reporting incorrect information on businesses' 
credit reports while failing to provide those businesses with a 
reasonable means to dispute such information and have inaccurate 
information corrected. The proposed complaint alleges this conduct 
caused or is likely to cause substantial injury to consumers that is 
not outweighed by countervailing benefits to consumers or competition 
and is not reasonably avoided by consumers themselves. Such practice 
constitutes an unfair act or practice in violation of Section 5 of the 
FTC Act.
    The Proposed Order is designed to prevent D&B from engaging in 
similar acts or practices in the future. It includes injunctive relief 
to address these alleged violations.
    <bullet> Part I prohibits future deceptive acts and practices 
similar to those at issue in the complaint by prohibiting D&B from 
misrepresenting:

[[Page 2790]]

    [cir] That using D&B's product is likely to allow a business to 
have its previously unreported commercial payment experiences added to 
its credit report;
    [cir] That D&B will actively assist a business in adding its 
unreported commercial payment experiences to its credit report;
    [cir] That using D&B's product is likely to help a business build 
or improve its credit report;
    [cir] The ease with which information or payment experiences can be 
added to a business's credit report; and
    [cir] That D&B's product is needed when it is not, and that a 
product will enable a prospective customer to have a ``complete'' file.
    <bullet> Part I also features ancillary relief relating to the 
challenged conduct by prohibiting misrepresentations relating to what 
payment experiences customers can add, as well as to D&B's renewal and 
charging practices.
    <bullet> Part II provides additional specific relief relating to 
D&B's renewal and charging practices for products covered under the 
Proposed Order, to make sure that D&B makes clear disclosures about 
renewals both before a customer subscribes and during the period of the 
subscription.
    <bullet> Parts III and IV require D&B to make certain disclosures 
to potential customers of CreditBuilder products, so that those 
potential customers can make better informed decisions about whether to 
purchase the products.
    <bullet> Part V sets out specific requirements for D&B to follow 
when a business disputes information that D&B reports about it. The 
requirements of this Part V apply generally and are not limited only to 
D&B customers.
    <bullet> Part VI requires D&B to offer refunds (or partial refunds) 
to certain customers and former customers of CreditBuilder products. 
Refund or partial refund eligibility under the Proposed Order will 
depend on customers' specific circumstances and how they used or 
attempted to use their CreditBuilder products.
    <bullet> Part VII requires D&B to send notices to all current 
customers of paid products covered under the Proposed Order that 
automatically renew.
    Parts VIII through XII are reporting and compliance provisions. 
Part VIII mandates that D&B acknowledge receipt of the Proposed Order 
and, for three years, distribute the Proposed Order to certain 
employees and agents and secure acknowledgments from recipients of the 
Proposed Order. Part IX requires D&B to submit compliance reports to 
the FTC one year after the order's issuance and submit additional 
reports when certain events occur. Part X requires that, for 10 years, 
D&B creates certain records and retain them for at least 5 years. Part 
XI provides for the FTC's continued compliance monitoring of D&B's 
activity during the Proposed Order's effective dates. Part XII is a 
provision ``sunsetting'' the Proposed Order after 20 years, with 
certain exceptions.
    The purpose of this analysis is to facilitate public comment on the 
Proposed Order. It is not intended to constitute an official 
interpretation of the complaint or Proposed Order, or to modify in any 
way the Proposed Order's terms.

    By direction of the Commission.
April J. Tabor,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-00938 Filed 1-18-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P