NEW YORK (LN) — A federal magistrate judge on Wednesday sharply criticized Google’s repeated requests to conceal the identities of its employees and third-party vendors from court filings in a major commercial dispute with Cengage Learning, refusing to grant what she called an “aggressive redaction campaign” and warning the company that blanket sealing of worker names is disfavored under the presumption of public access.
The May 26 order from U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses in the Southern District of New York sets a June 8 conference to address the dispute, which has become a recurring issue across Google’s numerous sealing motions in the case. The court specifically flagged Google’s May 1 declaration of attorney Sarah Tomkowiak, which redacted the names of two Google employees—including a recent deponent—one third-party vendor, and two vendor employees. Moses noted these individuals maintain public LinkedIn profiles identifying themselves and their roles, and the vendor itself publicly advertises as a “Google Cloud Strategic Partner.”
The order cites the strong presumption of public access to judicial documents under Second Circuit precedent, including Brown v. Maxwell and Lugosch v. Pyramid Co. of Onondaga. Moses added that the sealing and redaction process “increases the burden and expense of litigation, including to the Court and its staff.”
While the court said it would “carefully consider” Google’s concerns, it declined to “scrub the names of its employees and vendors docket in this action simply because they are in some way, shape, or form ‘involved in policy strategy and enforcement efforts’ at Google.”
The parties must be prepared to address plaintiffs’ April 27, 2026 letter-motion and Google’s April 30, 2026 letter-motion at the June 8 conference.