On July 21, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (âDodd-Frank Actâ). Title X of the Dodd-Frank Act, which is titled the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (âCFP Actâ), amends a number of federal consumer protection laws enacted prior to the Dodd-Frank Act including, in relevant part, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (âFCRAâ) and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (âFACT Actâ). Specifically, Section 1088 of the CFP Act sets out certain amendments to the FCRA and the FACT Act directing the Commission to promulgate regulations that are intended to provide privacy protections to certain consumer information held by an entity that is subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission.
Section 1088 amends section 214(b) of the FACT Actâwhich added section 624 to the FCRA in 2003âand directs the Commission to implement the provisions of section 624 of the FCRA with respect to persons that are subject to the Commissionâs enforcement jurisdiction. Section 624 of the FCRA gives a consumer the right to block affiliates of an entity subject to the Commissionâs jurisdiction from using certain information obtained from such entity to make solicitations to that consumer (hereinafter referred to as the âaffiliate marketing rulesâ). Under the affiliate marketing rules, the entities covered by the regulations are expected to prepare and provide clear, conspicuous and concise opt-out notices to any consumers with whom such entities have a pre-existing business relationship. A covered entity only has to provide an opt-out notice to the extent that an affiliate of the covered entity plans to make a solicitation to any of the covered entityâs consumers. A covered entity is required to send opt-out notices at the maximum of once every five years.
Section 1088 of the CFP Act also amends section 628 of the FCRA and mandates that the Commission implement regulations requiring persons subject to the Commissionâs jurisdiction who possess or maintain consumer report information in connection with their business activities to properly dispose of that information (hereinafter referred to as the âdisposal rulesâ). Under the disposal rules, the entities covered by the regulations are expected to develop and implement a written disposal plan with respect to any consumer information within such entitiesâ possession. The regulations provide that a covered entity develop a written disposal plan that is tailored to the size and complexity of such entityâs business. The purpose of the written disposal plan is to establish a formal plan for the disposal of nonpublic, consumer information, which otherwise could be illegally confiscated and used by unauthorized third parties. Under the rules, a covered entity is required to develop a written disposal plan only once, but may subsequently amend such plan from time to time.
In addition, Section 1088 of the CFP Act amended the FCRA by adding the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission (âSEC,â together with the CFTC, the âCommissionsâ) to the list of federal agencies required to jointly prescribe and enforce identity theft red flags rules and guidelines and card issuer rules. Under the identity theft rules, entities covered by the regulation are required to develop and implement reasonable policies and procedures to identify, detect, and respond to relevant red flags for identity theft that are appropriate to the size and complexity of such entityâs business and, in the case of entities that issue credit or debit cards, to assess the validity of, and communicate with cardholders regarding address changes. They are also required to provide for the continued administration of identity theft policies and procedures.
The estimated total annual burden has increased to 59,459 hours to reflect the Commissionâs current estimate of the number of respondents subject to the requirements of Part 162. In addition, this burden estimate reflects the total burden hours from the affiliate marketing rules (Subpart A), the disposal rules (Subpart B), and the identity theft rules (Subpart C) âthe first two categories of which were inadvertently omitted from previous renewals. Thus the current renewal aims to correct past omissions by including burden calculations from all three categories under Part 162.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
(2019) 30-day Federal Register Notice 3038-0067.pdf
(2019) Supporting Statement - 3038-0067.docx
Collection 3038–0067, Part 162: Protection of Consumer Information under the Fair Credit Reporting Act