In re Google RTB Consumer Privacy Litigation
- Yvonne Rogers
- 4:21-cv-02155
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In re Google RTB Consumer Privacy Litigation: Judge Demarchi granted requests to seal sensitive Google data-system information in a discovery filing.
The plaintiffs and Google LLC, whose joint discovery filing contains the sealed information, and members of the public seeking access to that information.
What happened
In In re Google RTB Consumer Privacy Litigation, the plaintiffs and Google asked to conceal identical portions of a joint discovery letter brief. The brief did not address the parties’ underlying claims or defenses.
The court applied the lower standard for sealing materials related only indirectly to the case’s merits. It found good cause to seal information about sensitive technical details and identifiers in Google’s data logs and systems because public release could cause irreparable harm.
Judge Virginia K. Demarchi granted the sealing request, noting that a redacted version was already publicly available. The order terminated the motions filed at docket numbers 536 and 538.
The detailed version
- In re Google RTB Consumer Privacy Litigation · No. 4:21-cv-02155
- Yvonne Rogers
- July 10, 2023
Background
The plaintiffs and Google LLC each filed an administrative motion to seal portions of their June 5, 2023 joint discovery letter brief. The two motions requested identical redactions.
Legal standard
The court explained that judicial records generally are presumed open to the public. For records accompanying dispositive motions, sealing ordinarily requires specific factual findings showing compelling reasons. But that stronger standard does not apply equally to material only tangentially related to the merits of a case. Because the joint discovery letter did not address the merits of the parties’ claims or defenses, the court applied the lower “good cause” standard under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c).
Ruling
The court found good cause to seal information concerning technical details and identifiers related to highly sensitive data logs and data systems that Google maintains as confidential in its ordinary business. The court accepted that public release would cause Google irreparable harm and approved sealing the specified material. A redacted version of the joint discovery letter was already available on the public docket, so the court stated that no further action was required and terminated docket numbers 536 and 538.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.