Brown v. Google LLC

4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA CHASOM BROWN, et al., Case No. 20-cv-03664-YGR (SVK) 8 Plaintiffs, ORDER ON ADMINISTRATIVE 9 v. MOTIONS FOR LEAVE TO FILE UNDER SEAL 10 GOOGLE LLC, Re: Dkt. Nos. 484, 509, 516, 518, 534 11 Defendant.

12 Before the Court are several administrative motions to file under seal materials associated with discovery disputes in this case. Dkt. 484, 509, 516, 518, 534; see also Dkt. 507, .

14 Courts recognize a “general right to inspect and copy public records and documents, including judicial records and documents.” Kamakana v. City & Cnty. Of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 16 1172, 1178 (9th Cir. 2006) (quoting Nixon v. Warner Communs., Inc., 435 U.S. 589, 597 & n.7 (1978)). A request to seal court records therefore starts with a “strong presumption in favor of access.” Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1178 (quoting Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 19 1122, 1135 (9th Cir. 2003)). The standard for overcoming the presumption of public access to court records depends on the purpose for which the records are filed with the court. A party seeking to seal court records relating to motions that are “more than tangentially related to the underlying cause of action” must demonstrate “compelling reasons” that support secrecy. Ctr. For Auto Safety v. Chrysler Grp., 809 F.3d 1092, 1099 (9th Cir. 2016). For records attached to motions that re “not related, or only tangentially related, to the merits of the case,” the lower “good cause” standard of Rule 26(c) applies. Id.; see also Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179. A party moving to seal court records must also comply with the procedures established by Civil Local Rule 79-5.

1 Here, the “good cause” standard applies because the information the parties seek to seal was submitted to the Court in connection with discovery-related motions, rather than a motion that concerns the merits of the case. The Court may reach different conclusions regarding sealing these documents under different standards or in a different context. Having considered the motions to seal, supporting declarations, and the pleadings on file, and good cause appearing, the Court ORDERS as follows: 7 1. Dkt. 484 (see also Dkt. 507) Document Court’s Ruling on Reason(s) for Court’s Ruling Sought to be Motion to Seal 10 Sealed Joint Submission GRANTED as to The information requested to be sealed contains 11 in Response to redacted portions at: Google’s confidential and proprietary information, Dkt. 447 re: including details related to project names, internal 12 Status of 2-15, 29-31 identifiers, Google’s internal practices with regard Discovery to Incognito and its proprietary functions, as well as Disputes at internal metrics, that Google maintains as 14 confidential in the ordinary course of its business and is not generally known to the public or 15 Google’s competitors. Such confidential and proprietary information reveals Google’s internal 16 strategies, system designs, and business practices for operating and maintaining many of its services.

Public disclosure of such confidential and 18 proprietary information could affect Google’s competitive standing as competitors may alter their 19 systems and practices relating to competing products. It may also place Google at an increased 20 risk of cybersecurity threats, as third parties may seek to use the information to compromise Google’s internal practices relating to competing 22 products.

Exhibit A - re: GRANTED as to The information requested to be sealed contains 23 Priority RFPs at redacted portions at: Google’s confidential and proprietary information, 2-3 including details related to project names, internal identifiers, Google’s internal practices with regard 25 to Incognito and its proprietary functions, as well as internal metrics and investigation into financial 26 impact of certain features, that Google maintains as confidential in the ordinary course of its business 27 and is not generally known to the public or proprietary information reveals Google’s internal strategies, system designs, and business practices 2 for operating and maintaining many of its services.

Public disclosure of such confidential and 3 proprietary information could affect Google’s competitive standing as competitors may alter their 4 systems and practices relating to competing products. It may also place Google at an increased risk of cybersecurity threats, as third parties may 6 seek to use the information to compromise Google’s internal practices relating to competing 7 products.

9 2. Dkt. 509 Document Court’s Ruling on Reason(s) for Court’ Ruling 11 Sought to be Motion to Seal Sealed Exhibit A of the GRANTED as to the Narrowly tailored to protect confidential technical 13 Order portions at: information regarding sensitive features of Google’s internal systems and operations, 14 Pages 1, 7, 11-21 including details related to internal projects, data signals, and logs and their proprietary functionalities, as well as internal metrics and 16 investigation into financial impact of certain features, that Google maintains as confidential in 17 the ordinary course of its business and is not generally known to the public or Google’s 18 competitors.

20 3. Dkt. 516 Documents Court’s Ruling on Reason(s) for Court’s Ruling Sought to Be Motion to Seal 23 Sealed Joint Letter Brief GRANTED as to The information requested to be sealed contains 24 Portions Highlighted Google’s confidential and proprietary information, in Yellow at: including details related to project names, internal 25 identifiers, Google’s internal practices with regard Pages 1, 2, 3 to Incognito and its proprietary functions, as well as internal metrics and investigation into financial 27 impact of certain features, that Google maintains as confidential in the ordinary course of its or Google’s competitors. Such confidential and proprietary information reveals Google’s internal 2 strategies, system designs, and business practices for operating and maintaining many of its services.

3 Public disclosure of such confidential and proprietary information could affect Google’s 4 competitive standing as competitors may alter their systems and practices relating to competing products. It may also place Google at an increased 6 risk of cybersecurity threats, as third parties may seek to use the information to compromise 7 Google’s internal practices relating to competing products.

4. Dkt. 518 11 Documents Court’s Ruling on Reason(s) for Court’s Ruling Sought to Be Motion to Seal Sealed 13 First Order on GRANTED as to the Narrowly tailored to protect confidential technical March 11, 2022 portions at: information regarding sensitive features of 14 Joint Discovery Google’s internal systems and operations, Dispute Chart PDF pages 4-17, 31- including details related to internal projects, (Dkt. 487) 33 identifiers, internal practices with regard to 16 Incognito and its proprietary functionalities, as well as internal metrics and investigation into 17 financial impact of certain features, that Google maintains as confidential in the ordinary course of 18 its business and is not generally known to the public or Google’s competitors.

Second Order on GRANTED as to the Narrowly tailored to protect confidential technical 20 March 11, 2022 portions at: information regarding sensitive features of Joint Discovery Google’s internal systems and operations, 21 Dispute Chart PDF pages 4-8, 10- including details related to internal projects, (Dkt. 505) 20, 38-41, 48-49 identifiers, internal practices with regard to 22 Incognito and its proprietary functionalities, as well as internal metrics and investigation into financial impact of certain features, that Google 24 maintains as confidential in the ordinary course of its business and is not generally known to the 25 public or Google’s competitors.

26 //// //// 5. Dkt. 534 2 Documents Court’s Ruling on Reason(s) for Court’s Ruling 3 Sought to be Motion to Seal Sealed 4 Special Master’s | GRANTED as to the | Narrowly tailored to protect confidential Report and | Portions of Exhibit A to | technical information regarding sensitive 5 Recommendations | Special Master Report re | features of Google’s internal systems and on Referred | Preservation Plan at: operations, including various types of 6 Discovery Issues Google’s internal projects, data signals, 7 (Preservation Pages 2-3 and logs and their proprietary Plan) (Dkt. 524) functionalities, that Google maintains as 8 confidential in the ordinary course of its business and is not generally known to the 9 public or Google’s competitors.

SO ORDERED. ii Dated: April 14, 2022 16 S vo SUSAN VAN KEULEN United States Magistrate Judge Z 18