(1) Records, except to the extent required to
be disclosed under other laws or regulations,
related solely to the internal personnel rules
and practices of the Commission. This exemption
applies to internal rules or instructions to
Commission personnel which must be kept
confidential in order to assure effective
performance of the functions and activities for
which the Commission is responsible and which do
not affect members of the public.
(2) Trade secrets and commercial or financial
information obtained from a person and privileged
or confidential. As provided in section 6(f) of
the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C.
46(f), this exemption applies to competitively
sensitive information, such as costs or various
types of sales statistics and inventories. It
includes trade secrets in the nature of formulas,
patterns, devices, and processes of manufacture,
as well as names of customers in which there is a
proprietary or highly competitive interest.
(3) Interagency or intra-agency memoranda or
letters which would not routinely be available by
law to a private party in litigation with the
Commission. This exemption preserves the existing
freedom of Commission officials and employees to
engage in full and frank communication with each
other and with officials and employees of other
governmental agencies. This exemption includes
records of the deliberations of the Commission
except for the record of the final votes of each
member of the Commission in every agency
proceeding. It includes intraagency and
interagency reports, memorandums, letters,
correspondence, work papers, and minutes of
meetings, as well as staff papers prepared for
use within the Commission or between the
Commission and other governmental agencies. It
also includes information scheduled for public
release, but as to which premature release would
be contrary to the public interest;
(4) Personnel and medical files and similar
files the disclosure of which would constitute a
clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy
except to the extent such files or materials must
be disclosed under other laws or regulations.
This exemption applies to personnel and medical
records and similar records containing private or
personal information concerning any individual
which, if disclosed to any person other than the
individual concerned or his designated legal
representative without his permission in writing,
would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion
of personal privacy. Examples of files exempt
from disclosure include, but are not limited to:
(i) The personnel records of the Commission;
(ii) Files containing reports, records or
other material pertaining to individual cases in
which disciplinary or other administrative action
has been or may be taken, including records of
proceedings pertaining to the conduct or
performance of duties by Commission personnel;
(5) Records or information compiled for law
enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that
production of such law enforcement records or
information:
(i) Could reasonably be expected to interfere
with enforcement proceedings;
(ii) Would deprive a person of a right to a
fair trial or an impartial adjudication;
(iii) Could reasonably be expected to
constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal
privacy;
(iv) Could reasonably be expected to disclose
the identity of a confidential source, including
a State, local, or foreign agency or authority or
any private institution that furnished
information on a confidential basis, and, in the
case of a record or information compiled by a
criminal law enforcement authority in the course
of a criminal investigation, or by an agency
conducting a lawful national security
intelligence investigation, information furnished
by a confidential source;
(v) Would disclose techniques and procedures
for law enforcement investigations or
prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for
law enforcement investigations or prosecutions if
such disclosure could reasonably be expected to
risk circumvention of the law; or
(vi) Could reasonably be expected to endanger
the life or physical safety of any individual.
(6) Information contained in or related to
examination, operating, or condition reports
prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of an
agency responsible for the regulation or
supervision of financial institutions;
(7) Geological and geophysical information and
data, including maps, concerning wells; and
(8) Material, as that term is defined in
section 21(a) of the Federal Trade Commission
Act, which is received by the Commission:
(i) In an investigation, a purpose of which is
to determine whether any person may have violated
any provision of the laws administered by the
Commission; and
(ii) Which is provided pursuant to any
compulsory process under the Federal Trade
Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 41, et seq., or which
is provided voluntarily in place of compulsory
process in such an investigation. See section
21(f) of the Federal Trade Commission Act.
(9) Material, as that term
is defined in section 21(a) of the Federal Trade
Commission Act, which is received by the
Commission pursuant to compulsory process in an
investigation, a purpose of which is to determine
whether any person may have violated any
provision of the laws administered by the
Commission. See section 21(b)(3)(C) of the
Federal Trade Commission Act.
(10) Such other material of the Commission as
may from time to time be designated by the
Commission as confidential pursuant to statute or
Executive Order. This exempts from disclosure any
information that has been designated nonpublic
pursuant to criteria and procedures prescribed by
Executive Order and that has not been
subsequently declassified in accordance with
applicable procedures. The exemption also
preserves the full force and effect of statutes
that restrict public access to specific
government records or material.
(11) Material in an investigation or
proceeding that involves a possible violation of
criminal law, when there is reason to believe
that the subject of the investigation or
proceeding is not aware of its pendency, and
disclosure of the existence of the investigation
could reasonably be expected to interfere with
enforcement proceedings. When a request is made
for records under §4.11(a),
the Commission may treat the records as not
subject to the requirements of the Freedom of
Information Act.