[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 197 (Friday, October 10, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 61267-61268]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-24247]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 306


Telemarketing Sales Rule

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'').

ACTION: Extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: In an August 11, 2014, Federal Register Notice, as part of its 
systematic review of all current Commission regulations and guides, the 
Federal Trade Commission (``Commission'') sought public comment on the 
efficacy, costs, and benefits of the Telemarketing Sales Rule 
(``TSR''), and whether the Commission should retain, modify, or rescind 
it. The Notice stated that comments must be received on or before 
October 14, 2014. In response to a request received on September 29, 
2014, the Commission has decided to extend the comment period, which 
will now close on November 13, 2014.

DATES: Comments addressing the regulatory review of the TSR must be 
received on or before November 13, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Craig Tregillus, (202) 326-2970, or 
Karen S. Hobbs (202) 326-3587, Division of Marketing Practices, Federal 
Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.--Rm. CC-8528, Washington, 
DC 20580.

[[Page 61268]]


ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper, by 
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``Telemarketing Sales 
Rule Regulatory Review, 16 CFR Part 310, Project No. R411001'' on your 
comment. File your comment online at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/telemarketingsalesnprm 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 B), 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 
B), Washington, DC 20024.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission is extending the comment 
period for its rule review of the TSR to November 13, 2014. The 
Commission's Notice requesting public comment posed an extensive list 
of questions on the costs, benefits and efficacy of the TSR in the 
marketplace, and whether the Commission should retain, modify, or 
rescind it.\1\ The Commission also specifically requested comment on 
three issues: (1) Whether the preaquired account information provisions 
of the TSR should be modified in view of current credit card 
association rules and the Restore Online Shoppers Confidence Act, 15 
U.S.C. 8401 (2010); (2) what impact, if any, the increasing use of 
general media to solicit inbound calls from consumers to purchase a 
variety of goods or services, including those involving a negative 
option or free trial, is having; and (3) the costs and burdens of 
modifying the recordkeeping requirements of the TSR to require 
telemarketers to retain their own call records. The regulatory review 
comment period was to end on October 14, 2014.
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    \1\ Federal Trade Commission: Telemarketing Sales Rule, Rule 
Review, 79 FR 46732 (Aug. 11, 2014).
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    In a letter dated September 25, 2014, which the Commission received 
on September 29, 2014, the Professional Association for Customer 
Engagement (``PACE'') requested that the Commission extend the comment 
period for an additional two months. The Commission recognizes that the 
extensive list of questions on which it has requested public comment 
raise significant issues and believes that extending the comment period 
for 30 days will be sufficient to facilitate a more complete record.
    You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to 
consider your comment, we must receive it on or before November 13, 
2014. Write ``Telemarketing Sales Rule Regulatory Review, 16 CFR Part 
310, Project No. R411001'' on your comment. Your comment--including 
your name and your state--will be placed on the public record of this 
proceeding, including, to the extent practicable, on the public 
Commission Web site, at http://www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm. As a 
matter of discretion, the Commission tries to remove individuals' home 
contact information from comments before placing them on the Commission 
Web site.
    Because your comment will be made public, you are solely 
responsible for making sure that your comment doesn't include any 
sensitive personal information, such as anyone'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 that your comment does not include 
any sensitive health information, such as medical records or other 
individually identifiable health information. In addition, do not 
include any ``[t]rade secret or any commercial or financial information 
. . . which is privileged or confidential,'' as provided in 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). In particular, do not include competitively sensitive 
information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, 
patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names. If you 
want the Commission to give your comment confidential treatment, you 
must file it in paper form, with a request for confidential treatment, 
and you have to follow the procedure explained in FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 
CFR 4.9(c). Your comment will be kept confidential only if the FTC 
General Counsel grants your request in accordance with the law and the 
public interest.
    Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to 
heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit 
your comments online. To make sure that the Commission considers your 
online comment, you must file it at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/telemarketingsalesnprm, by following the instructions on the Web-
based form. If this Notice appears at http://www.regulations.gov, you 
also may file a comment through that Web site.
    If you prefer to file your comment on paper, write ``Telemarketing 
Sales Rule Regulatory Review, 16 CFR Part 310, Project No. R411001'' 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 B), 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 B), Washington, DC 20024. If 
possible, submit your paper comment to the Commission by courier or 
overnight service.
    Visit the Commission Web site at http://www.ftc.gov to read the 
August 11, 2014 Notice and the news release describing it. 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 November 13, 2014. You can find 
more information, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, 
in the Commission's privacy policy, at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.

    By direction of the Commission.
Janice Podoll Frankle,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-24247 Filed 10-9-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P