FTC Federal Register notice, Sept. 3, 1975, 40 FR 40778

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FEDERAL REGISTER, VOL. 40, NO. 171— WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1975

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMDER 3, 1975 PART IV:

PRIVACY ACT OF 1974 ■ VARIOUS AGENCIES Proposed Rules and Notices of Systems of Records

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40780 RULES AN D REGULATIONS Title 16— Commercial Practices CHAPTER I— FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION SUBCHAPTER A— PROCEDURES AND RULES OF PRACTICE PART 4— MISCELLANEOUS RULES Implementation of Privacy Act Regulations The Commission announces the follow­ ing rules, which are effective on Octo­ ber 3,1975, to implement the Privacy Act of (Pub. L. 93-579, 5 U.S.C. 552a). The Commission’s proposed rules» which were promulgated on August 14, (40 FR 34162), are amended by these rules. The only changes made have been renumbering the rules and clarifying that all requests under § 4.13 (c) (formerly § 4.13.3) must name the system of records which is the subject of the request and must include any addi­ tional information specified in the perti­ nent system notice as necessary to locate the records requested. Other than correc­ tion of typographical errors, no other changes have been made.

Section 4.13 is added to read as fol­ lows:

§ 4.13 Privacy Act rules.

(a) Purpose and Scope—(1) This sec­ tion is promulgated to implement, the Privacy Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 93-579, 5 U.S.C. 552a) by establishing procedures whereby an individual can, as to all systems of records maintained by the Commission except those set forth in § 4.13 (m) as exempt from disclosure, (i) request notification of whether the Com­ mission maintains a record pertaining to him in any system of records, (ii) re­ quest access to such a record or to an accounting of its disclosure, (iii) request that the record be amended or corrected, and (iv) appeal an initial adverse deter­ mination of any such request. This sec­ tion also establishes those systems of records that are specifically exempt from disclosure and from other requirements. (2) The procedures of this section ap­ ply only to requests by an individual as defined in § 4.13(b). Except as otherwise provided, they govern only records con­ taining personal information in systems of records for which notice has been pub­ lished by the Commission in the Federal R egister pursuant to section 552a(e) (4)^ of the Privacy Act of 1974 and which are neither exempt from the provisions of this section nor contained in govern­ ment-wide systems of personnel records for which notice has been published in the Federal R egister by the Civil Serv­ ice Commission. Requests for notifica­ tion, access, and amendment of person­ nel records which are contained in a system of records for which notice has been given by the Civil Service Commis­ sion are governed by the Civil Service Commission’s notices, 5 CFR Part 297. Access to records which are not subject to the requirements of the Privacy Act are governed by §§ 4.8-4.11.

(b) Definitions.—The following defini­ tions apply to this section only: (1) “Individual” means a natural per­ son who is a citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted for per­ manent residence-.- (2) “Record” means any item, collec­ tion, or grouping of personal information about an individual that is maintained by the Commission, including, but not limited to, his education, financial trans­ actions, medical history, and criminal or employment history and that contains his name, or the identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual, such as a finger or voice print or a photograph, but does not include information con­ cerning proprietorships, businesses, or corporations.

(3) “System of records” means a group of any records under the control of the Commission from which information is retrieved by the name of the individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual, for which notice has been published by the Commission in the Federal R egister pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4).

(c) Procedures for requests pertain­ ing to individual records in a record sys­ tem.—An individual may request access to his records or any information per­ taining to him in a system of records, and notification of whether and to whom the Commission has disclosed a record for which an accounting of disclosures is re­ quired to be kept and made available to him, using the procedures of this subsec­ tion. Requests for the disclosure of rec­ ords under this subsection or to deter­ mine whether a system of records con­ tains records pertaining to an individual or to obtain an accounting of disclosures, shall be in writing and if mailed, ad­ dressed as follows:

Privacy Act Request, Office of the Secretary, - Federal Trade Commission, 6th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, D.C. 20580.

If requests are presented in person at the Office of the Secretary, the individual shall be required to execute a written re­ quest. All requests must name the sys­ tem of records which is the subject of the request, and must include any additional information specified in-"the pertinent system notice as necessary to locate the records requested. If the requester desires to permit a person to accompany him to review his record, the request shall so state. Nothing in this section shall allow an individual access to any information compiled in reasonable anticipation of a civil action or proceeding. (d) Times, places, and requirements for identification of individuals making requests.—Verification of identity of per­ sons making written requests to the Sec­ retary ordinarily will not be required. The signature upon such requests shall be deemed to be a certification by the person signing that he is the individual to whom the record pertains or the par­ ent of a minor or the duly appointed le­ gal guardian of the individual to whom the record pertains. The Secretary may require additional verification of iden­ tity as specified by him when necessary reasonably to assure that records are not improperly disclosed; provided, however, that no verification of identity will be required where the records sought are publicly available under the Freedom of Information Act.

(e) Disclosure of requested information to individuals.—Within ten (10)- working days of receipt of a request under § 4.13 (c), the Secretary shall acknowledge re­ ceipt of the request. Within thirty (30) working days of the receipt of a request under § 4.13(c) , the Secretary shall in­ form the requester whether a system of records containing retrievable informa­ tion pertaining to the requester exists, and if so, either that his request has been granted or that the requested records or information is exempt from disclosure pursuant to §4.13(m). When, for good cause shown, the Secretary is unable to respond within thirty (30) working days of the receipt of the request, he shall no­ tify the requester of that fact and ap­ proximately when it is anticipated that a response will be made.

(f) Special procedures: Medical rec­ ords.—When tiie Secretary determines that disclosure of a medical or psycho­ logical record directly to a requesting in­ dividual could have an adverse effect on the individual, he shall require the in­ dividual to designate a medical doctor to whom the record will be transmitted. (g) Request for correction or amend­ ment of record.—An individual to whom access to his records or any information pertaining to him in a system of records has been granted may request that any portion thereof be amended or-corrected because he believes it is not accurate, relevant; timely, or complete. An initial request forv correction or amendment of a record shall be in writing whether pre­ sented in person or by mail, and if by mail, addressed as in § 4.13(c). In mak­ ing a request under this subsection, the requesting party shall state the nature of the information in the record the individual believes to be inaccurate, ir­ relevant, untimely, or incomplete, the correction or amendment desired, and the reasons therefore.

(h) Agency review of request far cor­ rection or am endm entof record.— Whether presented in person or by mail, requests under § 4.13(g) shall be acknowledged by the Secretary within ten (10) working days of the receipt of the request if action on the request can­ not be completed and the individual notified of the results within that time. Thereafter, the Secretary shall promptly either make the requested amendment or correction or inform the requester of his refusal to make the amendment or correction, the reasons for the refusal, and the requester’s right to appeal that determination in accordance with § 4.13 (i).

(i) Appeal of initial adverse agency determination.— (1) If the Secretary de­ nies an initial request under § 4.13(c) or § 4.13(g), the requester may appeal that determination to the Commission. The appeal shall be in writing and addressed as follows:

FEDERAL REGISTER, VOL. 40, NO. 171— WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1975

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Privacy Act Appeal, Office of the General Counsel, Federal Trade Commission, 6th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, D.C. 20580.

The Commission shall notify the re­ quester within thirty (30) working days of the receipt of his appeal of the dis­ position of that appeal, except that the thirty (30) day period may be extended for good cause, in which case the re­ quester will be advised of the approxi­ mate date on which review will be completed.

(2) (i) If the Commission refuses to amend or correct the record in accord­ ance with a request under § 4.13(g), it shall notify the requester of that deter­ mination and inform,him of his right to file with the Secretary of the Commis­ sion a concise statement setting forth the reasons for his disagreement with that determination and the fact that such a statement will be treated as set forth in subparagraph (ii). The Com­ mission shall also inform the requester that judicial review of the determina­ tion is available by a civil suit in the dis­ trict in which the requester resides, or has his principal place of business, or in which the agency records are situated, or in the District of Columbia. (ii) If the individual files a statement disagreeing with the Commission’s de­ termination not to amend or correct a record, it shall be clearly noted in the record involved and made available to RULES AND REGULATIONS anyone to whom the record has been dis­ closed after September 27, 1975, or is subsequently disclosed together with, if the Commission deems it appropriate, a brief statement of the reasons for refus­ ing to amend the record.

(j ) Disclosure of record to person other than the individual to whom it pertains.—Except as provided by 5 U.S.C. 552a(b), the. written request or prior written consent of the individual to whom a record pertains, or of his parent if a minor, or legal guardian if incompetent, shall be required before such record is disclosed. If the individual elects to in­ spect a record in person and desires to be accompanied by another person, the Sec­ retary may require the individual to fur­ nish a signed statement authorizing his record to be disclosed in the presence of the accompanying named person. (k) Fees.—No fees shall be charged for searching for a record, reviewing it, or for copies of records made by the Commis­ sion for its own purposes incident to granting access to a requester. Copies of records to which access has been granted under this section may be obtained by the requester from the Secretary upon payment of the reproduction fees pro­ vided in § 4.8(c) (2).

(l) Penalties. Section 552a(i) (3) of the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a(i)(3), makes it a misdemeanor, subject to a maximum fine of $5,000, to knowingly and willfully request or obtain any record concerning an individual under false pre- 40781 tenses. Sections 552a(i) (1) and (2) of the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a (i) (1) and (2), provide penalties for violations by agency employees of the Privacy Act or regulations established thereunder. Title 18 U.S.C. 1001, Crimes and Criminal Pro­ cedures, makes it a criminal offense, sub­ ject to a maximum fine of $10,000 or im­ prisonment for not more than 5 years or both, to knowingly and willfully make or cause to be made any false or fraud­ ulent statements or representations in any matter within the jurisdiction of any agency of the United States. (m) Specific exemptions. —Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552a(k) (2) , investigatory ma­ terial compiled for law enforcement pur­ poses in the following systems of records is exempt from subsections (c)(3), (d), (e ) (1), (e)(4) (G), (H), and (I), and (f) of 5 U.S.C. 552a, and from the provisiOns of this section, except as other­ wise provided in § 552a(k) (2): Disciplinary Action Investigatory Files—FTC. Investigational, Legal, and Public Records— FTC.

Litigation Information Management Systems for Investigations, Rulemaking, and Ad­ judicatory Proceedings—'FTC. Preliminary Investigation Files—FTC. Issued by direction of the Commission dated August 27, 1975.

Charles A. T obin, Secretary.

[FR Doc.75-23270 Filed 9-2-75;8:45 am]