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###### Federal Trade Commission

          - [File No. 172 3173]

# AGENCY:

Federal Trade Commission.

# ACTION:

Proposed consent agreement.

# SUMMARY:

The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices. The attached Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes both the allegations in the 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 October 10, 2017.

# ADDRESSES:

                        Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper, by following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the                               ( print page 43370)    **SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION**                         section below. Write: “In the Matter of Decusoft, LLC, File No. 172 3173” on your comment, and file your comment online at                         *https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/​ftc/​decusoftconsent*                         by following the instructions on the web-based form. If you prefer to file your comment on paper, write “In the Matter of Decusoft, LLC, File No. 172 3173” 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.                    

# FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Monique Einhorn (202-326-2575), Bureau of Consumer Protection, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580.

# 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 from the FTC Home Page (for September 8, 2017), on the World Wide Web, 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 October 10, 2017. Write “In the Matter of Decusoft, LLC, File No. 172 3173” 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                     *https://www.ftc.gov/​policy/​public-comments.*

                    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/​decusoftconsent*                     by following the instructions on the web-based form. If this Notice appears at                     *http://www.regulations.gov/​#!home,*                     you also may file a comment through that Web site.                

If you prefer to file your comment on paper, write “In the Matter of Decusoft, LLC, File No. 172 3173” 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 FTC Web site at                     *https://www.ftc.gov,*                     you are solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive or confidential information. In particular, your comment should not include any 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 that your comment does not include any 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 in particular 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 public FTC Web site—as legally required by FTC Rule 4.9(b)—we cannot redact or remove your comment from the FTC Web site, 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 Web site at                     *http://www.ftc.gov*                     to read this 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 October 10, 2017. 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, a consent agreement applicable to Decusoft, LLC (“Decusoft”).

The proposed consent order has been placed on the public record for thirty (30) days for receipt of comments by interested persons. Comments received during this period will become part of the public record. After thirty 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 concerns alleged false or misleading representations that Decusoft made to consumers concerning its participation in the Privacy Shield frameworks agreed upon by the U.S. and the European Union (“EU”) and the U.S. and Switzerland (collectively, “Privacy Shield frameworks”). The Privacy Shield frameworks allow U.S. companies to transfer data outside the EU and Switzerland consistent with EU and Swiss law. To join the Privacy Shield frameworks, a company must self-certify to the U.S. Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) that it complies with a set of principles and related requirements that have been deemed by the European Commission and Switzerland as providing “adequate” privacy protection. These principles include notice; choice; accountability for onward transfer; security; data integrity and purpose limitation; access; and recourse,                           ( print page 43371)                        enforcement, and liability. Commerce maintains a public Web site,                     *https://www.privacyshield.gov/​list,*                     where it posts the names of companies that have self-certified to the Privacy Shield frameworks. The listing of companies indicates whether their self-certification is current. Companies are required to re-certify every year in order to retain their status as current members of the Privacy Shield frameworks.                

Decusoft develops software for use in human resources applications. 

                    According to the Commission's complaint, Decusoft has set forth on its Web site,                     *www.decusoft.com/​privacy-policy,*                     privacy policies and statements about its practices, including statements related to its participation in the EU-U.S. and the Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield frameworks.                

The Commission's complaint alleges that Decusoft falsely represented that it was certified to participate in the Privacy Shield frameworks when, in fact, Decusoft never completed the necessary steps to finalize its applications, and thus, was not certified to participate in either the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework or the Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield framework.

Part I of the proposed order prohibits Decusoft from making misrepresentations about its membership in any privacy or security program sponsored by the government or any other self-regulatory or standard-setting organization, including, but not limited to, the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework and the Swiss-U.S. Safe Privacy Shield framework.

Parts II through VI of the proposed order are reporting and compliance provisions. Part II requires acknowledgement of the order and dissemination of the order now and in the future to persons with responsibilities relating to the subject matter of the order. Part III ensures notification to the FTC of changes in corporate status and mandates that Decusoft submit an initial compliance report to the FTC. Part IV requires Decusoft to retain documents relating to its compliance with the order for a five-year period.

Part V mandates that Decusoft make available to the FTC information or subsequent compliance reports, as requested. Part VI is a provision “sunsetting” the order after twenty (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 proposed complaint or order or to modify the order's terms in any way.

By direction of the Commission.

Donald S. Clark, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2017-19617 Filed 9-14-17; 8:45 am]

 BILLING CODE 6750-01-P