In re Google RTB Consumer Privacy Litigation

Background

The plaintiffs filed an administrative motion to seal portions of a joint discovery letter concerning Google’s search terms, custodians, and non-custodial sources, along with three exhibits. Google had designated the material as confidential and filed a response.

Court’s analysis

The court explained that judicial records connected to dispositive motions generally may be sealed only for compelling reasons. But the material here was submitted in connection with a discovery dispute, and the dispute did not address the merits of the parties’ claims or defenses. The court therefore applied the lower “good cause” standard under Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

The court found good cause because the proposed redactions contained technical details about Google’s project code names and internal data systems. The court accepted Google’s representation that the information was confidential in the ordinary course of its business, was not generally known to the public or Google’s competitors, and could cause competitive harm if disclosed.

Order

The court granted the administrative motion to seal. The permitted redactions covered highlighted portions of the joint letter brief at pages 2, 4, 5, and 6; Exhibit A at pages 2, 4, and 9; Exhibit C at page 1; and Exhibit D at pages 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10. The court also noted that Google had narrowed the proposed redactions and ordered Google to file a version of the joint letter brief with those narrower redactions on the public docket by May 2, 2022. Virginia K. Demarchi signed the order as United States magistrate judge.