US Judiciary Moves to Bolster Privacy Protections in Federal Court Filings

A federal judicial panel on Wednesday advanced proposed rule changes aimed at strengthening privacy protections for Americans who file documents in court, requiring more stringent redaction of sensitive information and the use of pseudonyms for minors.

The US Judicial Conference’s Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure, following years of deliberation, voted during a meeting in Chicago to seek public comment on proposed amendments to privacy rules governing civil, criminal and bankruptcy proceedings.

The proposed changes stem in part from recommendations made by Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, who in 2022 wrote to Chief Justice John Roberts urging him to address what he described as a failure by federal courts to adequately protect Americans’ private information.

He cited studies suggesting that tens of thousands of Social Security numbers and other sensitive details were being disclosed, despite congressional requirements mandating that court filings be redacted before being made public.

The Federal Judicial Center, the judiciary’s research arm, in a recently completed study, found 22,391 unredacted Social Security numbers or individual taxpayer identification numbers linked to 8,300 people in 4,524 documents out of 4.7 million filings reviewed over 37 randomly selected days in 2022.

Judicial rule-makers expanded their consideration of potential reforms after the US Department of Justice in 2024 called for enhanced privacy protections for minors, recommending that they be identified in public court filings using pseudonyms rather than initials.

Under the proposed rules, which would apply to all court filings including exhibits, Social Security numbers would have to be fully redacted in both civil and criminal cases. Currently, only the last four digits may be included.

Employer identification numbers, which are not explicitly covered under existing privacy rules, would also have to be redacted in civil and criminal cases, as would individual taxpayer identification numbers.

Pseudonyms would also be used for children across civil, criminal and bankruptcy proceedings.

The Justice Department, in supporting the proposed changes, cited the need to better protect child victims and witnesses, warning that individuals accused of exploiting children sometimes monitor court filings and take steps to uncover the identities of minors involved.

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