FCC Consumer Advisory Committee Recommendation 
Regarding Reporting of Consumer Complaint Data
We	respectfully	recommend	that	the	FCC	improve the ways	in	which	it	provides	anonymized	
consumer	complaint	data	to	the	public.	We	make	this	recommendation	in	light	of	the	Commission's	
recent	request	for	input	from	the	public	regarding	openness	and	efficiency, as	well	as the	overall	
goals	of	the	administration	to	improve	government	openness	and	transparency.		Current	quarterly	
reports	only	share	the	top	five	complaint	areas	and	provide	few	other	details.		They	are	delivered	in	
a	non	machine-readable	format	that	greatly	reduces	the	ability	of	outside	groups	to	make	use	of	the	
data.
In	a	recent	review,	we	found	a	response	by	the	FCC	to	a	consumer	FOIA	request	that	included	over	
two	hundred	complaints	that	displayed	many	fields	of	useful	non-personally	identifiable	
information.		Therefore	this	information	is	available,	but	simply	not	being	shared	with	the	public	
without	specific	requests	for	the	information.
This information	can	be	used	to	frame consumer	education	efforts	and	to	evaluate	the	effectiveness	
of agency	messaging	and	initiatives.	Improving	public	reporting	of	consumer	complaints	would	not	
only	help	consumers	but	should	reduce	costs	for	the	FCC	by	minimizing	FOIA	requests	and	
significantly	reducing	the	work	associated	with	the	current	reporting	process.	
At	a	minimum,	we	recommend	the	following	improvements	in	FCC	Complaint	reporting:
? A	direct	link	to	the	Consumer	Complaint	Data	on	the	home	page	to	allow	the	public	easy	
access	to	the	data.
? The	described	data	should	be	exportable	in	machine-readable	and	accessible	formats,	such	
as	spreadsheet	or	CSV	form,	and	allow	filtering	of	information	so	the	public	can	review	the	
information	based	on	various	criteria	at their	discretion.	The	Consumer	Complaint	data	
must	contain	a	broader	and	more	detailed	breakdown	than	the	current	quarterly	PDF	based	
reports,	which	only	provide	a	few	general	categories	of	complaints.	
? In	addition,	the	FCC	should	look	to	improve	its	aggregate	and	narrative	reporting,	providing	
a	more	detailed	breakdown	of	complaints	in	a	narrative	format.		
? The	improved	complaint	data	information	provided	should	comply	with	5	U.S.C.A.	§522a	
(b)(5).		This	allows	for	the	sharing	of	non-personally	identifiable	information	such	as:
Complaint	ID,	Communications	Sector	(i.e.	mobile	services,	internet,	radio,	television),	Issue,	
State,	Zip	Code,	Date	Received,	Date	Investigated,	Date	Resolved,	Response,	Timeliness	of	
Response,	Consumer	Satisfaction.
? The	Commission	should	also	take	steps	to	ensure	the	data	being	shared	is	accurate	and	
reflects	the	true	nature	of	complaints	being	submitted.	Processes	should	be	developed	to	
correct	user	self-selection	errors	and	duplicate	submission	issues.	
? The	Commission	should	continue	to	find	ways	to	separate	out	complaints	and	inquiries	in	
its	reporting.
? The	Commission	should	develop	specific	timelines	for	release	of	more	detailed	complaint	
data	and	transitioning	to	machine-readable	data,	allocating	specific	resources	to	modernize	
its	complaint	reporting.
? Provide	reports	on	minority	and	disability	community	participation	in	the	complaint	
database,	and	take	steps	to	encourage	minority	and	disability	community	participation	in	
the	complaint	database.	
In	its	process	of	improving	its publicly	available	data	on	complaints	it	receives,	we	urge	the	FCC	to	
review	and	consider	the	accessibility	and	transparency	of	the	Consumer	Financial	Protection	
Bureau’s	(CFPB)	complaint	reporting efforts. CFPB	shares basic, anonymous, non-identifiable	
consumer	complaint	information,	as	permitted	under	U.S.C.A.	§552a	(b)(5)	in	an	on-line	database	
that	can	be	viewed	and	searched	based	on	a	number	of	criteria. The	CFPB	complaint	database	can	
be	found	at	the	following	URL,	http://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaintdatabase/.		
In	the	spirit	of	past CAC recommendations	and	discussions	on	improving	consumer	complaint	
reporting,	we	recommend	that	the	FCC utilize	an	online	database	to	give	public	access	to	non-
identifiable	consumer	complaints	and	aggregated	data.		Improvements	to	complaint	data	reporting	
at	the	FCC	could	reduce	costs	for	the	agency	in	the	long	term,	assist	in	its	regulatory	efforts,	and	
make	the	FCC	a	leader	in	openness	and	making	information	available	to	the	public.		This	effort	
would	also	improve	public	involvement	and	support	of	the	agency’s	efforts.
We	appreciate	your	consideration	of	these	recommendations	and	respectfully	urge adoption	as	
soon	as	possible.
Adopted:	December	16,	2013
Abstentions:	Consumer	Electronics	Assoc.;	CTIA;	NCTA;	Time	Warner	Cable;	T-Mobile;	Verizon
Respectfully	submitted:
Debra	R.	Berlyn,	Chairperson
FCC	Consumer	Advisory	Committee