Source: https://www.ftc.gov/data-quality-act/guidelines-for-ensuring
Timestamp: 2018-06-23 21:32:07
Document Index: 73308468

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 45', '§ 46', '§ 21', '§ 57', '§ 6', '§ 46', '§ 7', '§ 18', '§ 552']

Guidelines for Ensuring and Maximizing the Quality, Objectivity, Utility, and Integrity of Information Disseminated by the Federal Trade Commission | Federal Trade Commission
II. FTC’s Role in Public Information Dissemination
Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) Act authorizes the FTC to prevent the use of unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce. See 15 U.S.C. § 45. Section 6(f) of the Act authorizes the FTC to make public such portions of information that it obtains under the Act as are in the public interest, to report to Congress, and to provide for the publication of its reports and decisions in such form and manner as may be best adapted for public information and use. 15 U.S.C. § 46(f). At the same time, the Commission’s authority to disseminate information is subject to legal restrictions or limitations applicable to the disclosure, use, or transfer of information that it collects or maintains. See, e.g., FTC Act § 21(b) & (f), 15 U.S.C. § 57b-2 (b) & (f) (information obtained pursuant to compulsory process or in lieu thereof in a Commission law enforcement investigation); FTC Act § 6(f), 15 U.S.C. § 46(f) (trade secrets and confidential commercial or financial information obtained from a person); Clayton Act § 7A(h), 15 U.S.C. § 18a(h) (filings under the Hart-Scott-Rodino pre-merger review program).
B. to treat information quality as a performance goal, and to take appropriate steps to incorporate information quality criteria into its information dissemination practices; and
C. to adopt specific quality standards that are appropriate for the categories of information disseminated in particular cases.
The remainder of these guidelines explains how the FTC strives to achieve information quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity, and outlines the administrative mechanism (see para. XI. below) by which affected persons shall be able to seek and obtain appropriate correction of information maintained and disseminated by the FTC that does not comply with the OMB or FTC guidelines.
1. Distribution limited to government employees or agency contractors or grantees;
2. Government information intended merely for intra- or inter-agency use or sharing;
9. Information dissemination products relating to or arising from adjudicatory processes, including, but not limited to, factual allegations made, evidence submitted, analyses prepared, findings and determinations made, and rulings or opinions issued in any administrative or judicial litigation or other adjudicatory matter;
10. Disclosures, notices, or other information disseminated by persons or entities other than the FTC, where the text of such disclosures, notices, or information is not explicitly prescribed or specified by the FTC itself (e.g., statutorily mandated text of warning labels on cigarette packages, disclosure language developed and used by regulated entities in order to satisfy legal standards established under FTC regulations, orders, or agreements); and
E. “Utility” refers to the usefulness of the information to its intended users, including the public. When transparency of information is relevant for assessing the information’s usefulness from the public’s perspective, transparency is addressed to the extent practicable and appropriate in the FTC’s review of the information, as discussed below in paragraph VIII. of these guidelines. There may be legal limitations, however, on the FTC’s ability to make publicly available the data or methods underlying a particular information dissemination product, and persons seeking access to such data or methods must comply with certain FTC requirements and procedures for requesting such access.
F. “Objectivity” involves two distinct elements, presentation and substance.
1. “Objectivity” includes whether disseminated information is being presented in an accurate, clear, complete, and unbiased manner, including whether the information is presented within a proper context and identifying the source of the disseminated information to the extent possible in light of confidentiality protections, if any. In a scientific, financial, or statistical context, the FTC may make supporting data and models publicly available so the public can assess for itself whether there may be some reason to question the objectivity of the sources. Where appropriate, data should have full, accurate, transparent documentation, and error sources affecting data quality should be identified and disclosed to users, subject to legal or other restrictions on disclosure.
3. To ensure “objectivity” in cases, if any, where the FTC is responsible for disseminating “influential scientific, financial, or statistical information,” the FTC shall provide the highest practicable degree of transparency about data and methods to facilitate the reproducibility of such information by qualified third parties, consistent with legal restrictions or limitations on disclosure. See OMB Guidelines, para. V.3.b.ii.A, B & C, and paras. V.I. (reproducibility) & VIII. (transparency) of these guidelines below.
H. “Influential,” when used in the phrase “influential scientific, financial, or statistical information,” means that the agency can reasonably determine that dissemination of the information will have or does have a clear and substantial impact on important public policies or important private sector decisions. Whether a particular FTC information dissemination product is “influential” will depend on the nature and multiplicity of issues for which the FTC is responsible and the breadth and intensity of the impact, if any, that the information dissemination product is likely to have on those issues (e.g., its anticipated effect, if any, on compliance with laws administered or enforced by the FTC or on the final outcome of a rulemaking proceeding).
I. “Reproducibility” means that the information is capable of being substantially reproduced, subject to an acceptable degree of imprecision. As provided in the OMB Guidelines, this standard does not apply to all agency information or data, but only to “influential scientific, financial, or statistical information,” if any, disseminated by the agency.
1. Original or supporting data. The FTC may identify and/or limit the specific types of such data that can practicably be “reproduced,” given ethical, feasibility, or confidentiality constraints and, in doing so, may consult, as needed, with relevant scientific and technical communities. The agency shall assure reproducibility for such data according to commonly accepted scientific, financial, or statistical standards.
2. Analytic results relating to original or supporting data. The FTC is not required to, and generally will not, reproduce each analytic result before it is disseminated.
3. Analysis of risks to human health, safety, and the environment disseminated by the agency, if any. The FTC will apply, as appropriate and feasible, the standards set forth in OMB Guidelines, paragraph V.3.b.ii.C. Any such risk assessments shall adhere to the standards set forth in the FTC’s guidelines at paragraph V.F. to ensure that the assessments are objective and unbiased.
J. “Affected persons” are people who may benefit from, be harmed by, or otherwise be affected by, the disseminated information.
A. Internal agency review. To the greatest extent practicable and appropriate, information disseminated by the FTC is internally reviewed for quality--including objectivity, utility, and integrity--before such information is disseminated.
1. Information disseminated to the public by the FTC is normally subject to one or more levels of internal staff, supervisory, or Commission review for quality before such information may be disseminated.
2. The number of levels of internal quality review applied in a particular case depends on the nature, scope, and purpose of the information to be disseminated. For example, routine reports that may be prepared by staff about the agency’s activities or operations may be subject to one or two levels of staff or supervisory review for basic accuracy and completeness before such reports are released to the general public. Additional levels of internal review, supplementation, clarification, or approval by agency management and/or the Commissioners may be appropriate, however, to the extent such a report may be intended as the basis for more complicated budgeting decisions or legislative reporting purposes (e.g., to satisfy a need for greater statistical detail or explanation).
1. Peer review by outside parties is normally reserved for FTC economic reports and studies. The FTC may also use peer review to ensure the quality of other information dissemination products to the extent they are “influential,” or to ensure quality in other appropriate cases. Where data and analytic results have been subjected to formal, independent, external peer review, the information is entitled to a presumption of acceptable objectivity, subject to rebuttal based on a persuasive showing by the petitioner in a particular instance. OMB Guidelines, para. V.3.b.i.
B. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act, drafting agency information collections so that such information will be collected, maintained, and used in a manner consistent with the OMB and agency information quality standards reflected in these guidelines.
C. Conducting independent legal, economic, or statistical research, using an array of government and private commercial and non-profit databases, agency surveys and questionnaires, etc.
D. Where information may be used to determine an individual’s rights, benefits, or privileges under Federal programs and such information is maintained and retrieved from a system of records by the individual’s name or other personal identifier within the meaning of the Privacy Act, collecting that information directly from the source to the greatest extent practicable, and ensuring that it is accurate, relevant, timely, and complete before it is disseminated, as required by that Act. See 5 U.S.C. § 552a(e)(2), (6).
E. Allowing self-verification or self-reporting of information by consumers and others (e.g., consumer complaints, identity theft data, etc.).
F. Encouraging outside parties to identify and correct errors in their information or data before submitting them to the agency.
IX. Integrity of FTC Information and Data
A. To preserve the integrity of information and data that the FTC may ultimately disseminate, the FTC takes appropriate measures to ensure that the security of information and data is not compromised while it is being collected, maintained, or used by the agency. OMB Guidelines, para. V.4. These measures are intended to be consistent with legal requirements such as the Computer Security Act, the Government Information Security Reform Act, the Privacy Act, the FTC and Clayton Acts, and any other applicable laws, regulations, orders, agreements, or guidance.
B. These measures extend to FTC contractors, consultants, experts or others to the extent such information or data are shared with them on a non-public basis.
C. With respect to the administrative mechanism for seeking and obtaining the correction of information disseminated by the agency, the FTC will submit annual fiscal-year reports each January 1, beginning in 2004, to OMB. See para. XII. below. The FTC will also make copies of requests for correction and the agency’s responses publicly available.
XI. Administrative Mechanism for Seeking and Obtaining Correction of Information
A. The Commission shall provide and maintain a mechanism by which affected persons may seek and obtain, where appropriate, timely correction of information maintained and disseminated by the agency that does not comply with OMB or agency guidelines.
B. This administrative mechanism shall be flexible, appropriate to the nature and timeliness of the disseminated information, and incorporated into agency information resources management and administrative practices.
C. The administrative mechanism shall specify appropriate time periods for agency decisions on whether and how to correct the information, and how affected persons shall be notified of the corrections made, if any.
D. If the person who requested the correction does not agree with the agency’s decision (including the corrective action, if any), the administrative mechanism shall provide that such person may file for reconsideration within the agency. The administrative mechanism shall include an administrative appeal process to review the agency’s initial decision, and shall specify appropriate time limits in which to resolve such requests for reconsideration.
E. The office that originally disseminates the information at issue shall not have responsibility for both the initial response and resolution of a disagreement. In addition, if other agencies or entities have an interest in the resolution of any administrative appeal, the agency shall make reasonable efforts to consult with those other agencies or entities about their possible interest, although the FTC shall be solely responsible for determining whether to grant the request for correction.
F. Where information or data relates to or arises in a matter in which there is opportunity for public comment (e.g., rulemaking), the public comment process may constitute the administrative mechanism available to persons seeking to obtain correction of information disseminated or proposed to be disseminated therein. In such cases, appropriate staff may respond to the initial request for correction and the Commission, unless otherwise provided, shall be responsible for resolving requests, if any, for reconsideration of the initial staff response. The agency may incorporate its response into its next formal action, notice, or issuance in the public comment process, or the agency may instead choose to re-disseminate the data or information with any corrections deemed necessary and appropriate before the data or information becomes the basis for final agency action (e.g., final rule), as noted above in paragraph VI.B. In such cases, the FTC may require a showing that actual harm would result if the agency were not to respond to the correction request until such final agency action.
H. The FTC shall specifically describe and implement the administrative mechanism outlined above by means of its Web site and through other appropriate means.
XII. Compliance, Reporting, Effective Date, and Judicial Review
A. The FTC’s Chief Information Officer, or other designated agency official, shall be responsible for agency compliance with these guidelines.
1. To the extent these guidelines prescribe procedures for the pre-dissemination quality review of FTC information, such procedures shall apply only to information that the agency first disseminates on or after that date.
2. To the extent these guidelines prescribe an agency administrative mechanism for affected persons to seek and obtain correction of information disseminated by the agency, that mechanism shall apply only to information that the agency disseminates on or after that date, regardless of when the agency first disseminated the information.