IN RE WORLDCOM, INC., (Bankr.S.D.N.Y. 2003)

ARTHUR J. GONZALEZ, United States Bankruptcy Judge

WHEREAS, it has come to the Court's attention that certain proofs of claim filed in these chapter 11 cases may have appended to them documents that are subject to confidentiality agreements or other restrictions on public dissemination and which contain information that the Debtors consider confidential for commercial or security reasons ("Confidential Information");

WHEREAS, public dissemination of Confidential Information may cause harm to the Debtors and their estates;

WHEREAS, proofs of claim filed in these cases and their attachments are available to the public through the Court's docket, its web site, and other independent web sites operated on behalf of the Debtors and their claims agent;

WHEREFORE, in order to avoid the risk of harm to the Debtors and their estates posed by the public dissemination of Confidential Information appended to proofs of claim, the Court establishes the following procedures pursuant to sections 105(a) and 107(b) of title 11 of the United States Code (the "Bankruptcy Code") and Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9018; accordingly, it is hereby

ORDERED that, effective immediately, the Debtors are hereby authorized to designate attachments to proofs of claim containing Confidential Information as "confidential" and identify such documents to the Clerk of this Court. Upon receipt of such designation, the Clerk shall place such documents under seal and remove them from the publicly-accessible website of this Court. Further, upon such designation the Debtors are authorized immediately to direct the operator of their independent web site and their claims agent to remove such documents from their respective web sites; and it is further

ORDERED that within five business days of the designation of Confidential Information and the removal of such documents from public access, the Debtors shall file a notice identifying the applicable proofs of claim and serve such notice on each party who filed a proof of claim affected by the designation and to all parties identified in paragraph 2 of the Court's First Amended Case Management Order dated December 23, 2002; and it is further

ORDERED that within 15 days of the filing of such notice, any party in interest may file and serve an objection to the designation of Confidential Information, but shall not attach thereto the documents designated as confidential by the Debtors, and it is further

ORDERED that if such an objection is timely filed, the Debtors may file a response supporting the confidential designation and set the matter for hearing; and it is further

ORDERED that if no objection is timely filed within the 15-day period, the Confidential Information designated by the Debtors shall be finally approved as confidential without further order of the Court and shall remain under seal, and such approval will not be subject to further objection; and it is further

ORDERED that any party in interest who objects to the procedures set forth in this Order shall file an objection not later than 15 days after the date of entry of this Order. If any such objections are filed, the Debtors shall respond thereto and the matter shall be set for hearing.