4901.24—Special rules for trade secrets and confidential commercial or financial information submitted to the PBGC.
(a) Application.
To the extent permitted by law, this section applies to a request for disclosure of a record that contains information that has been designated by the submitter in good faith in accordance with paragraph (b) of this section or a record that the PBGC has reason to believe contains such information, unless—
(4)
The designation under paragraph (b) of this section appears obviously frivolous, except that in such a case the PBGC will notify the submitter in writing of a determination to disclose the information within a reasonable time before the disclosure date (which shall be specified in the notice).
(b) Designation by submitter.
To designate information as being subject to this section, the submitter shall, at the time of submission or by a reasonable time thereafter, assert that information being submitted is confidential business information and designate, with appropriate markings, the portion(s) of the submission to which the assertion applies. Any designation under this paragraph shall expire 10 years after the date of submission unless a longer designation period is requested and reasonable justification is provided therefor.
(c) Notification to submitter of disclosure request.
When disclosure of information subject to this section may be made, the disclosure officer or (where disclosure may be made in response to an appeal) the General Counsel shall promptly notify the submitter, describing (or providing a copy of) the information that may be disclosed, and afford the submitter a reasonable period of time to object in writing to the requested disclosure. (The notification to the submitter may be oral or written; if oral, it will be confirmed in writing.) When a submitter is notified under this paragraph, the requester shall be notified that the submitter is being afforded an opportunity to object to disclosure.
(d) Objection of submitter.
A submitter's statement objecting to disclosure should specify all grounds relied upon for opposing disclosure of any portion(s) of the information under subsection (b) of FOIA and, with respect to the exemption in paragraph (b)(4) of FOIA, demonstrate why the information is a trade secret or is commercial or financial information that is privileged or confidential. Facts asserted should be certified or otherwise supported. (Information provided pursuant to this paragraph may itself be subject to disclosure under FOIA.) Any timely objection of a submitter under this paragraph shall be carefully considered in determining whether to grant a disclosure request or appeal.
(e) Notification to submitter of decision to disclose.
If the disclosure officer or (where disclosure is in response to an appeal) the General Counsel decides to disclose information subject to this section despite the submitter's objections, the disclosure officer (or General Counsel) shall give the submitter written notice, explaining briefly why the information is to be disclosed despite those objections, describing the information to be disclosed, and specifying the date when the information will be disclosed to the requester. The notification shall, to the extent permitted by law, be provided a reasonable number of days before the disclosure date so specified, and a copy shall be provided to the requester.
(f) Notification to submitter of action to compel disclosure.
The disclosure officer or the General Counsel shall promptly notify the submitter if a requester brings suit seeking to compel disclosure.