Federal Trade Commission v. IQVIA Holdings Inc.
- Edgardo Ramos
- 1:23-cv-06188
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In FTC v. IQVIA, Judge Ramos granted the FTC’s request to redact confidential information and file its unredacted opposition under seal.
The Federal Trade Commission, IQVIA Holdings Inc., Propel Media, Inc., and third parties whose information was designated confidential were affected by the sealing order.
What happened
In Federal Trade Commission v. IQVIA Holdings Inc. and Propel Media, Inc., the Federal Trade Commission asked to redact confidential information from its public opposition to defendants’ request to modify a protective order. The information came from the FTC’s nonpublic investigation of IQVIA’s proposed acquisition of Propel Media.
The FTC said the information had been designated confidential by IQVIA, Propel Media, or third parties because it was commercially and competitively sensitive. The FTC also identified sealed exhibits and proposed filing a redacted opposition publicly and an unredacted version under seal.
Judge Edgardo Ramos granted the FTC’s request. The court allowed the FTC to redact the identified information from the public opposition and directed the Clerk of Court to seal the unredacted opposition as to the FTC, IQVIA, and Propel.
The detailed version
- Federal Trade Commission v. IQVIA Holdings Inc. · No. 1:23-cv-06188
- Edgardo Ramos
- Aug. 17, 2023
Background
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a letter-motion seeking permission to seal portions of its opposition to defendants’ motion to modify the protective order. The opposition concerned information produced during the FTC’s nonpublic investigation of IQVIA’s proposed acquisition of Propel Media, Inc.
The FTC stated that the information had been designated confidential by IQVIA, Propel Media, and/or third parties. The designations were based on asserted commercial and competitive sensitivity and potential harm from disclosure. The FTC identified information protected under 15 U.S.C. §§ 18a(h), 46(f), and 57b-2(b) and (c), as well as 16 C.F.R. § 4.10(d).
Sealing Request
The FTC asked to redact limited information from the publicly available version of its opposition, docket entry 106, and to file the unredacted opposition under seal as docket entry 107. It also explained that Exhibits B, F, and G were nonpublic documents filed under seal, with a slipsheet to be filed publicly.
The FTC described the Second Circuit’s three-step approach to sealing: determining whether the material is a judicial document, assessing the weight of the public-access presumption, and balancing that presumption against competing interests, including privacy interests. The FTC argued that the public-access presumption was weaker because the requested redactions covered information already designated confidential under the protective order.
Ruling
Judge Edgardo Ramos granted the FTC’s request. The court allowed the FTC to redact the information identified in its request from the publicly available opposition and to file the unredacted opposition under seal. The Clerk of Court was directed to seal docket entry 107 as to the applicable parties: the FTC, IQVIA, and Propel.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.