Committee determines that continued classification is required under the criteria of the Executive Order, it shall promptly so notify the requester and advise him that he may file an application for review with the Commission. In addition, the Committee shall review all appeals of requests for records under Section 552 of Title 5 U.S.C. (Freedom of Information Act) when the proposed denial is based on their continued classification under Executive Order 12065.

§ 0.504 Original classification.

Executive Order 12065 removed the Commission's prior authority for original classification of national security information as “SECRET” and “CONFIDENTIAL.” In any instance where a Commission employee develops information that appears to warrant classification because of its national security character, the material will be afforded protection and sent to the Internal Review and Security Division (IRSD). Upon determination that classification is warranted, IRSD will submit such material to the agency which has appropriate subject matter interest and classification authority. § 0.505

Derivative classification.

(a) Distinct from "original" classification is the determination that a document must be classified because it contains paraphrases, restatements, or summaries of, or incorporates in new form, information previously classified by proper authority. Authority to apply derivative classification is granted to Commissioners and Bureau and Office Chiefs, who may delegate this responsibility to the Division level. Original classification decisions must be respected, and to the extent practicable, the current level of classification should be verified through the original classification authority. Declassification or review instructions will be carried forward from the source material or, where available, the classification guide of the originator.

(b) Any document that derives its classification from information classified on or after December 1, 1978, shall be marked with the date or event assigned to the source information for

its continued need for classification. If derived from an older document with a declassification date or event 20 years or less from the date of its original classification, that date will be carried forward to the derivative document. Documents derived from source documents without declassification date or event, or with a date 20 years or more from the date of original classification, will be given a declassification date 20 years from the date of original classification of the source document.

DOWNGRADING AND DECLASSIFICATION

§ 0.520 Introduction.

(a) Executive Order 12065 is intended to improve protection against unauthorized disclosure of national security information or material while increasing openness in Government by limiting classification and accelerating declassification. Declassification shall be given emphasis comparable to that accorded classification, with declassification action taken as early as national security considerations permit. The loss of the information's sensitivity with the passage of time or on the occurrence of a declassification event shall form the basis for the decision to declassify. Commission documents given original classification prior to December 1, 1978 may be declassified by the authorizing official, a successor, or by a supervisory official of either.

(b) Those permanent records given original classification by the Commission prior to December 1, 1978, and not in the possession and control of the General Services Administration, must receive a systematic review for declassification prior to becoming twenty years old. Any record considered to require extension of classification must be submitted to an official authorized under E.O. 12065 as original classification authority. Absent such approval, or a prior automatic declassification date, the information is declassified automatically at the end of twenty years from the date of original classification. Exempt from such automatic declassification and 'the twenty year systematic review is foreign government information. Such information, unless declassified earlier,

will be given a declassification review thirty years from its date of origin. As used herein, "foreign government information" is information provided to the United States by a foreign government or international organization of governments in the expectation, express or implied, that the information is to be kept in confidence; or information produced by the United States pursuant to a written joint agreement with a foreign government or international organization of governments requiring that either the information or the arrangements, or both, be kept in confidence.

§ 0.521 Mandatory declassification review. (a) The Office of the Executive Director is hereby designated as the office to which members of the public or Departments may direct requests for mandatory review for declassification under this provision. In the case of documents originally classified by the Commission, this office shall, in turn, assign the request to the appropriate office for action within 60 days. In each instance, receipt of the request will be acknowledged in writing immediately by the office which has been assigned action. A request for classification review must reasonably describe the document.

(b) Whenever a request is deficient in its description of the record sought, the requester should be asked to provide additional identifying information to the extent possible. Whenever a request does not reasonably describe the information sought, the requester shall be notified that unless additional information is provided or the scope of the request is narrowed, no further action will be undertaken. Upon a determination that the requested material no longer warrants classification, it shall be declassified and made promptly available to the requester, if not otherwise exempt from disclosure under 5 U.S.C. 552(b) (Freedom of Information Act) or other provision of law. If the information may not be released in whole or in part, the requester shall be given a brief statement as to the reasons for denial, a notice of the right to appeal the determination to the Classification Review Committee, and a notice that such an appeal

must be filed with the Commission within 60 days in order to be considered.

(c) When the request relates to a document given derivative classification by the Commission, the request and the document will be forwarded to the originator of the source document, and the requester notified of such referral.

(d) Employees presently cleared for access to classified information are encouraged to challenge classification in cases where there is reasonable cause to believe that information is classified unnecessarily, improperly, or for an inappropriate period of time. Such challenges should be brought to the attention of the Executive Director who will act thereon within 30 days, informing the challenger of actions taken. Requests for confidentiality will be honored.

§ 0.530 Access to classified materials.

No person may be given access to classified information (a) Unless that person has been determined to be trustworthy and (b) Unless access is necessary for the performance of official duties.

§ 0.531 Access by historical researchers and former presidential appointees. The requirements of § 0.530 may be waived for persons who are engaged in historical research projects, or who previously served as FCC Commissioners, provided they execute written agreements to safeguard the information and written consent to the Commission's review of their notes and manuscripts solely for the purpose of determining that no classified information is disclosed. A precondition to any such access is the favorable completion of an appropriate investigative inquiry.

8 0.540 Fees and charges.

(a) The Commission has designated a contractor to make copies of Commission records and offer them for sale (See § 0.465).

(b) An hourly fee is charged for recovery of the direct costs of searching for the documents (See § 0.466). No search fee will be charged if:

(b) In this subpart:

(1) "Individual" means a citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence;

(2) "Record" means any item, collection or grouping of information about an individual that is maintained by the Commission, including but not limited to, his education, financial transactions, 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;

(3) "System of Records" means a group of records under the control of the Commission from which information is retrievable by the name of the individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual;

(4) "Routine Use" means, with respect to the disclosure of a record, the use of such record for a purpose which is compatible with the purpose for which it was collected;

(5) "System Manager" means the Commission official responsible for the storage, maintenance, safekeeping, and disposal of a system of records.

§ 0.552 Notice identifying Commission systems of records.

The Commission annually publishes in the FEDERAL REGISTER a notice listing systems of records currently maintained by the Commission, including for each system of records:

(a) The name and location of the system;

(b) The categories of individuals on whom records are maintained in the system;

(c) The categories of records maintained in the system;

(d) Each routine use of the records contained in the system, including the categories of users and the purposes of such use;

(e) The policies and practices of the agency regarding storage, retrievability, access controls, retention, and disposal of the records;

(f) The title and business address of the system manager;

(g) The address of the agency office to which inquiries should be addressed and the addresses of locations at which the individual may inquire whether a system contains records pertaining to himself;

(h) The agency procedures whereby an individual can be notified how access can be gained to any record pertaining to that individual contained in a system of records, and the procedure for correcting or contesting its contents; and

(i) The categories of sources of records in the system.

§ 0.553 New uses of information.

Before establishing a new routine use of a system of records, the Commission will publish a notice in the FEDERAL REGISTER of its intention to do so, and will provide at least 30 days for public comment on such use. The notice will contain:

(a) The name of the system of records for which the new routine use is to be established;

(b) The authority for the system; (c) The categories of records maintained;

(d) The proposed routine use(s); and (e) The categories of recipients for each proposed routine use.

§ 0.554 Procedures for requests pertaining to individual records in a system of records.

(a) Upon request, the Commission will notify an individual as to whether it maintains information about him or her in a system of records and, subject to the provisions of § 0.555(b), will disclose the substance of such information to that individual. In order to properly request notification or access to record information, reference must be made to the Notice described in § 0.552. A table of contents, which is alphabetized by bureau or office, precedes the system descriptions and allows members of the public to easily identify record systems of interest to them. An individual may inquire into information contained in any or all systems of records described in the Notice. However, each inquiry shall be limited to information from systems located within a single bureau or office and shall be addressed to that bureau or office.

(b) Reasonable identification is required of all individuals making requests pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section in order to assure that disclosure of any information is made to the proper person.

(1) An individual who chooses to register a request for information in person may verify his or her identity by showing any two of the following: social security card; drivers license; employee identification card; medicare card; birth certificate; bank credit card; or other positive means of identification. Documents incorporating a picture and/or signature of the individual shall be produced if possible. If an individual can provide no suitable document for identification, he will be required to sign a statement asserting his identity and stipulating that he understands that knowingly or willfully seeking or obtaining access to records about another person under false pretenses is punishable by a fine of up to $5,000.

NOTE: An individual's refusal to disclose his social security number shall not constitute cause in and of itself, for denial of a request.

(2) All requests for record information sent by mail shall be signed by

the requestor and shall include his printed name, current address and telephone number (if any). Commission officials receiving such requests will attempt to verify the identity of the requestor by comparing his or her signature to those in the record. If the record contains no signatures and if positive identification cannot be made on the basis of other information submitted, the requestor will be required to sign a statement asserting his identity and stipulating that he understands that knowingly or willfully seeking or obtaining access to records about another person under false pretenses is punishable by a fine of up to $5000.

(3) If positive identification cannot be made on the basis of the information submitted, and if data in the record is so sensitive that unauthorized access could cause harm or embarrassment to the individual to whom the record pertains, the Commission reserves the right to deny access to the record pending the production of additional more satisfactory evidence of identity.

NOTE: The Commission will require verification of identity only where it has determined that knowledge of the existence of record information or its substance is not subject to the public disclosure requirements of the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552, as amended.

(c) All requests for notification of the existence of record information or for access to such information shall be delivered to the business address of the system manager responsible for the system of records in question, except that requests relating to official personnel records shall be addressed to the Chief, Personnel Division. Such addresses can be found in the Notice described in § 0.552.

(d) A written acknowledgement of receipt of a request for notification and/or access will be provided within 10 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) to the individual making the request. Such an acknowledgement may, if necessary, request any additional information needed to locate a record. A search of all systems of records identified in the individual's request will be

made to determine if any records pertaining to the individual are contained therein, and the individual will be notified of the search results as soon as the search has been completed. Normally, a request will be processed and the individual notified of the search results within 30 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) from the date the inquiry is received. However, in some cases, as where records have to be recalled from Federal Record Centers, notification may be delayed. If it is determined that a record pertaining to the individual making the request does exist, the notification will state approximately when the record will be available for personal review. No separate acknowledgement is required if the request can be processed and the individual notified of the search results within the ten-day period.

§ 0.555 Disclosure of record information to individuals.

(a) An individual having been notified that the Commission maintains a record pertaining to him or her in a system of records may request access to such record in one of three ways: by in person inspection at the system location; by transfer of the record to a nearer location; or by mail.

(1) Individuals who wish to review their records at the system location must do so during regular Commission business hours (8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday). For personal and administrative convenience, individuals are urged to arrange to review a record by appointment. Preferences as to specific dates and times can be made by writing or calling the system manager responsible for the system of records in question at least two days in advance of the desired appointment date, and by providing a telephone number where the individual can be reached during the day in case the appointment must be changed. Verification of identity is required as in § 0.554(b)(1) before access will be granted an individual appearing in person. Individuals may be accompanied by a person of his or her own choosing when reviewing a record. However, in such cases, a written statement authorizing discussion of

his or her record in the presence of the accompanying person must be furnished. In addition, any disclosure of original Commission records must take place in the presence of a Commission representative having physical custody of the records.

(2) Individuals may request that a record be transferred to a Commission field office or installation in the vicinity of his or her home and that access be granted at that location. The addresses of Commission field offices are listed in § 0.121. A request to transfer records must specify the exact location where the records should be sent and a telephone number to call when the information is available for review at the field location. Paragraph (a)(1) of this section regarding personal appointments, verification of identity accompanying persons, and disclosure of original records applies equally to this paragraph.

(3) Individuals may request that copies of records be sent directly to them. In such cases, the individual must verify his or her identity as in § 0.554(b)(2) and provide an accurate return address. Records shall be sent only to that address.

(b) The disclosure of record information under this section is subject to the following limitations:

(1) Records containing medical information pertaining to an individual are subject to individual access under this section unless, in the judgment of the system manager having custody of the records after consultation with a medical doctor, access to such record information could have an adverse impact on the individual. In such cases, a copy of the record will be delivered to a medical doctor named by the individual.

(2) Classified material, investigative material compiled for law enforcement purposes, investigatory material compiled solely for determining suitability for federal employment or access to classified information, and certain testing or examination material shall be removed from the records to the extent permitted in the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552(a). Section 0.561 of this subpart sets forth the systems of records maintained by the Commission which are either totally or partially