Document Headings

                    Document headings vary by document type but may contain                    the following:                  
                -                       the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document                    
                -                       the number of the CFR title and the number of each part                      the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly                      related to                    
                -                       the agency docket number / agency internal file number                    
                -                       the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in                      the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory                      Actions                    

                    See the                                          Document Drafting Handbook                                        for more details.                  

###### Federal Communications Commission

          - [OMB 3060-1088 and OMB 3060-1209; FR ID 274842]

# AGENCY:

Federal Communications Commission.

# ACTION:

Notice and request for comments.

# SUMMARY:

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or the Commission) invites the general public and other Federal Agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection. Pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, the FCC seeks specific comment on how it might “further reduce the information collection burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.”

# DATES:

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be submitted on or before February 24, 2025.

# ADDRESSES:

                        Comments should be sent to                         *www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain.*                         Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function. Your comment must be submitted into                         *www.reginfo.gov*                         per the above instructions for it to be considered. In addition to submitting in                         *www.reginfo.gov*                         also send a copy of your comment on the proposed information collection to Cathy Williams, FCC, via email to                         *PRA@fcc.gov*                         and to                         *Cathy.Williams@fcc.gov.*                         Include in the comments the OMB control number as shown in the                         **SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION**                         below.                    

# FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

                        For additional information or copies of the information collection, contact Cathy Williams at (202) 418-2918. To view a copy of this information collection request (ICR) submitted to OMB: (1) go to the web page                         *http://www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain,*                         (2) look for the section of the web page called “Currently Under Review,” (3) click on the downward-pointing arrow in the “Select Agency” box below the “Currently Under Review” heading, (4) select “Federal Communications Commission” from the list of agencies presented in the “Select Agency” box, (5) click the “Submit” button to the right of the “Select Agency” box, (6) when the list of FCC ICRs currently under review appears, look for the Title of this ICR and then click on the ICR Reference Number. A copy of the FCC submission to OMB will be displayed.                    

# SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Commission may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the PRA that does not display a valid OMB control number.

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), the FCC invited the general public and other Federal Agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection. Comments are requested concerning: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimates; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4), the FCC seeks specific comment on how it might “further reduce the information collection burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.”

*OMB Control Number:*                     3060-1088.                

*Title:*                     Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991, Report and Order and Third Order on Reconsideration, CG Docket No. 05-338, FCC 06-42.                

*Form Number:*                     N/A.                

*Type of Review:*                     Extension of a currently approved collection.                

*Respondents:*                     Business or other for-profit entities; Not-for-profit institutions; and Individuals or households.                

*Number of Respondents and Responses:*                     5,341,080 respondents; 6,050,735 responses.                

*Estimated Time per Response:*                     3 minutes (.05 hours) to 30 minutes (.50 hours).                

*Frequency of Response:*                     Annual, monthly, and on occasion reporting requirements; Recordkeeping requirement; and Third party disclosure requirement.                

*Obligation to Respond:*                     Required to obtain or retain benefits. The authorizing statutes for this information collection are: Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, Public Law 102-243. 105 Stat. 2394 (1991); Junk Fax Prevention Act, Public Law 109-21, 119 Stat. 359 (2005).                

*Total Annual Burden:*                     3,670,540 hours.                

*Total Annual Cost:*                     $1,062,142.                

*Needs and Uses:*                     On April 5, 2006, the Commission adopted a Report and Order and Third Order on Reconsideration, In the Matter of Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991; Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005, CG Docket Nos. 02-278 and 05-338, FCC 06-42, which modified the Commission's facsimile advertising rules to implement the Junk Fax Prevention Act. The Report and Order and Third Order on Reconsideration contained information collection requirements pertaining to: (1) Opt-out Notice and Do-Not-Fax Requests Recordkeeping in which the rules require senders of unsolicited facsimile advertisements to include a notice on the first page of the facsimile that informs the recipient of the ability and means to request that they not receive future unsolicited facsimile advertisements from the sender; (2) Established Business Relationship Recordkeeping whereas the Junk Fax Prevention Act provides that the sender,                     *e.g.,*                     a person, business, or a nonprofit/institution, is prohibited from faxing an unsolicited advertisement to a facsimile machine unless the sender has an “established business relationship” (EBR) with the recipient; (3) Facsimile Number Recordkeeping in which the Junk Fax Prevention Act provides that an EBR alone does not entitle a sender to fax an advertisement to an individual or business. The fax number must also be provided voluntarily by the recipient; and (4) Express Invitation or Permission Recordkeeping where in the absence of an EBR, the sender must obtain the prior express invitation or permission from the consumer before sending the facsimile advertisement.                

                    On October 14, 2008, the Commission released an Order on Reconsideration,                           ( print page 8026)                        FCC 08-239, addressing certain issues raised in petitions for reconsideration and/or clarification filed in response to the Commission's Report and Order and Third Order on Reconsideration (Junk Fax Order), FCC 06-42. In document FCC 08-239, the Commission clarified that: (1) Facsimile numbers compiled by third parties on behalf of the facsimile sender will be presumed to have been made voluntarily available for public distribution so long as they are obtained from the intended recipient's own directory, advertisement, or internet site; (2) Reasonable steps to verify that a recipient has agreed to make available a facsimile number for public distribution may include methods other than direct contact with the recipient; and (3) a description of the facsimile sender's opt-out mechanism on the first web page to which recipients are directed in the opt-out notice satisfies the requirement that such a description appear on the first page of the website.                

The Commission believes these clarifications will assist senders of facsimile advertisements in complying with the Commission's rules in a manner that minimizes regulatory compliance costs while maintaining the protections afforded consumers under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

*OMB Control Number:*                     3060-1209.                

*Title:*                     Section 73.1216, Licensee-Conducted Contests.                

*Form Number:*                     None. (Complaints alleging violations of the Contest Rule generally are filed on via the Commission's Consumer Complaint Portal entitled General Complaints, Obscenity or Indecency Complaints, Complaints under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, Slamming Complaints, Requests for Dispute Assistance and Communications Accessibility Complaints which is approved under OMB control number 3060-0874).                

*Type of Review:*                     Extension of a currently approved collection.                

*Respondents:*                     Business or other for-profit entities; Not-for-profit institutions.                

*Number of Respondents and Responses:*                     21,322 respondents; 21,322 responses.                

*Estimated Time per Response:*                     0.1-9 hours.                

*Frequency of Response:*                     On occasion reporting requirement: Third party disclosure requirement and recordkeeping requirement.                

*Total Annual Burden:*                     126,335 hours.                

*Total Annual Costs:*                     $6,395,700.                

*Obligation To Respond:*                     Required to obtain or retain benefits. The statutory authority for this collection of information is contained in Sections 1, 4 and 303 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.                

*Needs and Uses:*                     The Commission adopted the Contest Rule in 1976 to address concerns about the manner in which broadcast stations were conducting contests over the air. The Contest Rule generally requires stations to broadcast material contest terms fully and accurately the first time the audience is told how to participate in a contest, and periodically thereafter. In addition, stations must conduct contests substantially as announced. These information collection requirements are necessary to ensure that broadcast licensees conduct contests with due regard for the public interest.                

The Contest Rule permit broadcasters to meet their obligation to disclose contest material terms on an internet website in lieu of making broadcast announcements. Under the amended Contest Rule, broadcasters are required to (i) announce the relevant internet website address on air the first time the audience is told about the contest and periodically thereafter; (ii) disclose the material contest terms fully and accurately on a publicly accessible internet website, establishing a link or tab to such terms through a link or tab on the announced website's home page, and ensure that any material terms disclosed on such a website conform in all substantive respects to those mentioned over the air; (iii) maintain contest material terms online for at least thirty days after the contest has ended; and (v) announce on air that the material terms of a contest have changed (where that is the case) within 24 hours of the change in terms on a website, and periodically thereafter, and to direct consumers to the website to review the changes.

Federal Communications Commission.

Marlene Dortch,

Secretary, Office of the Secretary.

[FR Doc. 2025-01531 Filed 1-22-25; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712-01-P