The Importance of Redaction for Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests

By Alisa Fetic

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests are time-consuming, but processing them correctly is critical to avoid potential financial penalties. Below, we explore the FOIA in more detail, in addition to the exemptions that mean your agency may need to redact data when processing a request.

What is the Freedom of Information Act?

The Freedom of Information Act was enacted in 1967, and it allows for individuals and organizations to request access to information held about them by federal agencies. But while such agencies must disclose the information that they have, there are certain exemptions that may be omitted. These nine exemptions exist to protect certain interests that pertain to national security and other sensitive areas.

Why is FOIA Data Redacted?

Certain information shouldn't be released to the general public, which is why federal agencies will use redaction. Redaction removes personally identifiable information (PII) and other data that, if disclosed, could cause harm to an organization, individual, or the government. As mentioned, there are nine exemptions here, which include:

Information pertaining to national security and foreign policy
Information relating to an organization's personnel rules and policies
Personally identifiable information, especially related to healthcare or finances
Confidential company information (trade secrets) and financial records
Communications between federal agencies and their policies
Compiled records from law enforcement agencies (criminal records, etc.)
Geological information, such as maps
Regulatory or supervisory information for financial institutions
Information exempted from release by statute

So, the above information must be redacted and not released as part of an FOIA. In such cases, agencies are expected to explain why information has been redacted, which is usually done by marking each instance with an exemption number.

Redaction is Time-Consuming

Given the number of documents that may be included in an FOIA, and the time taken to not only review said documents, but redact sensitive information, agencies can invest a lot of manual hours into fulfilling such requests.

Tech organizations are already turning to digital solutions that facilitate the process, reducing the amount of time spent redacting documents. These AI (artificial intelligence) driven tools can handle large volumes of data, identifying and sanitizing any sensitive information far more quickly than a human.

Use iDox.ai for Rapid Redaction

The importance of redaction can't be understated when handling FOIA requests. Under the Privacy Act of 2020, any officer or employee of an agency that falls foul of these rules can face a misdemeanor and a fine of up to $5,000. What's more, your agency may be fined under federal or state law for mishandling data.

With data privacy becoming such a critical topic, states like California, Connecticut, and Colorado are already implementing more stringent data privacy laws too. The privacy landscape is changing quickly, and your organization needs to be sure that FOIA requests are being handled in the correct way, and to the letter of the law.

The iDox.ai suite has been designed to quickly and easily redact sensitive information within documents that are intended for distribution or sharing. When paired with iDox.ai Discovery, which rapidly identifies sensitive data within a document, your organization can save significant man hours when preparing FOIA responses.

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The History of The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

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