PART IV — ELECTRONIC FILING, SERVICE, FEES, PRIVACY, AND DOCUMENT FORM
Rule 33. Privacy, redaction, pseudonyms, and protected information
Filer’s responsibility
The filer, not the ECMS, is responsible for redaction. The portal does not inspect a document for protected content and cannot redact a document after upload.
Information not to be filed openly
Unless the Court orders otherwise, a filing must omit or redact:
passwords, API keys, access tokens, recovery codes, session data, or private authentication material;
a person’s real-world home address, personal telephone number, personal email address, date of birth, financial-account data, IP address, device identifier, or precise real-world location;
nonpublic medical, counseling, education, or personnel information not necessary to decision;
the nonpublic identity or contact information of a minor, protected witness, informant, juror, or victim;
private communications beyond the portions materially necessary to the issue;
classified information;
material sealed by a lower tribunal; and
information protected by statute, privilege, or protective order.
Public Roblox usernames, immutable user identifiers, official titles, and public government acts may be stated when relevant, subject to a specific protective order.
Method
A redaction must replace the protected text with a label such as [REDACTED—PRIVATE CONTACT]. The underlying data must be removed from the file, metadata, comments, attachments, layers, and searchable text; placing a visible box over readable text is insufficient.
Minimum necessary disclosure
A party must disclose only the minimum protected information needed to resolve the issue. The Court may order a summary, stipulation, admission, coded identifier, or narrower excerpt.
Pseudonym
A person seeking to proceed by pseudonym must file a public motion stating the legal and factual basis without revealing the identity in the motion. The true identity must be provided only through a secure method designated by the Clerk. The Court must balance safety, privacy, fairness to the parties, and public accountability and must state reasons for granting pseudonymity.
Inadvertent disclosure
A person who discovers protected information in a filing must:
stop further dissemination;
notify the Clerk and affected parties immediately without repeating the information;
file a safe emergency notice requesting protective action; and
tender a properly redacted replacement as directed.
The original bytes cannot ordinarily be overwritten or partially sealed. The Court may restrict publication, direct secure preservation, order a corrected filing, and impose a lawful sanction after notice.
Continuing duty
The duty to protect or correct information continues after judgment. A person must promptly notify the Court when confidentiality is no longer required.