(a) Protection of proprietary and privileged information. As the administrative law judge deems reasonably necessary for the preparation of the defense of a charged party, the attorney for the charged party may be granted access in these proceedings to proprietary information or to the privileged information, the disclosure of which is the subject of the proceedings. Any such access shall be under protective order consistent with the provisions of this subpart.

(b) Confidentiality of proceedings. Upon the request of any charged party pursuant to § 207.106 of this subpart, the administrative law judge will issue an appropriate confidentiality order. This order will provide for the confidentiality, to the extent practicable and permitted by law, of information relating to allegations concerning the commitment of a prohibited act, consistent with public policy considerations and the needs of the parties in conducting the sanctions proceedings. The order will provide that all proceedings under this provision shall be kept confidential within the terms of the order, except to the extent that a discussion of such proceedings is incorporated into a published final decision of the Commission. Any confidential information not disclosed in such decision will remain protected.