In an era where transparency meets increasing public demand, safeguarding sensitive information is more critical than ever. This fourth installment of our FOIA software series delves into FOIA redaction software, powerful tools designed to protect personally identifiable information (PII) and other sensitive data while ensuring timely, accurate responses to records requests.
But first, what exactly is this type of software, and what are its capabilities?
What Is FOIA redaction software?
FOIA redaction software refers to systems integrated within FOIA and public records workflows. These tools enable agencies to automatically or semi-automatically obscure or remove confidential information such as names, faces, license plates, or sensitive text. Tasks such as these are executed by records management teams prior to releasing requested materials under FOIA or public records requests.
These solutions are often embedded in broader government redaction software suites and incorporate automated redaction tools powered by artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline operations and reduce human error. Redaction before AI was a very manual and labor intensive process. The scale of the requests combined with outdated workflows makes it exponentially more difficult in today’s environment.
For instance, in FY 2024, there were one hundred and twenty two federal agencies that were subject to FOIA requests. Overall, the federal government received a record high number of FOIA requests, reaching over 1.5 million, a 25.15% increase from the number of requests received the previous year. Never before has it been more imperative for records teams to have the right tools to help them streamline and automate the redaction process to help them climb the mountain of requests they’ve received.
Why it matters: risks & challenges processing FOIA requests
While FOIA redaction software offers powerful tools to streamline the release of public records, agencies still face significant hurdles when managing sensitive information. Even with advanced tools, redaction presents complex challenges that can impact accuracy, consume resources, and affect compliance. Understanding these risks is essential for implementing an effective redaction workflow that protects sensitive data without slowing FOIA processing.
By not adopting new tools, you run these risks:
- Accuracy vs. efficiency: manual redaction is neither efficient nor at times accurate, risking increasing backlogs and delays or possible exposure of personal identifiable information (PII)
- Resource drain: The time and labor required to manually redact large volumes of files (especially video and audio) can overwhelm public records teams. It can take a full workday to redact a ten minute video. That’s just not scalable.
- Compliance Pressure: Errors or delays in redaction can result in noncompliance with FOIA mandates and compromise public trust and transparency. Both of these are critical for how law enforcement agencies interact with the communities they serve.
The power of automation
Given these challenges, it’s clear that relying solely on manual redaction is no longer sustainable. Agencies need solutions that not only protect sensitive information but also streamline workflows and reduce human error. This is where automated redaction tools come in. These tools provide records management staff the ability to use AI to handle repetitive, detailed‑intensive redaction tasks while improving speed, accuracy, and compliance across all types of media.
With these tools, you can:
- Automatically detect and obscure sensitive content including faces, objects, and audio-related PII across video, audio, image, and document formats.
- Powered by AI, tools like Veritone Redact can track selected objects (e.g., a face or license plate) through entire video sequences or transcripts, drastically reducing manual effort.
- These technologies enable agencies to cut redaction time by up to 90%, with real-world cases (e.g., the Oregon and Escondido Police Departments) showing significant reductions in time to completion.
- By minimizing human intervention, automated tools also reduce burnout and overtime costs, while enhancing accuracy, consistency, and chain-of-custody documentation.
Beyond improving speed and accuracy, automated redaction tools offer far-reaching advantages that extend across an agency’s operations. From reducing workload strain to supporting compliance and public trust, these solutions do more than just handle redaction.
Broader agency benefits
Adopting FOIA redaction software and other public records redaction software does more than speed up workflows. It fundamentally transforms how agencies handle sensitive information. By automating labor-intensive tasks, these tools empower teams to focus on higher-value work, while ensuring compliance, accuracy, and transparency across all types of records.
Using FOIA redaction software and public records redaction software supports agencies in:
- Boosting operational efficiency, allowing them to keep pace with surging FOIA volumes and diverse media types.
- Reducing costs and labor demands, freeing staff to focus on higher-value tasks instead of repetitive redaction workloads.
- Supporting compliance and accountability, given built-in options for audit trails, logs, and secure processing.
- Reinforcing public trust by ensuring that agencies can release records promptly without compromising privacy.
The benefits extend beyond efficiency and cost savings. With robust audit trails, secure processing, and the ability to maintain public trust through timely record releases, automated redaction tools create a foundation for a more accountable and responsive agency. To fully realize these advantages, it’s essential to understand the key capabilities to look for when selecting FOIA redaction solutions—features that ensure your software meets the demands of modern records management.
Key capabilities to look for
Choosing the right FOIA redaction software goes beyond simply automating tasks. It requires selecting a solution with the features that ensure accuracy, compliance, and operational efficiency. Understanding the key capabilities that make a redaction tool effective can help agencies handle sensitive content confidently, reduce manual effort, and maintain public trust.
When evaluating FOIA redaction tools, focus on capabilities like:
- AI-powered detection of PII across media types (faces, object recognition in video/image, audio transcript keywords).
- Automated tracking of redacted elements across time in video or audio files.
- User-defined zones and manual overrides for edge cases or non-standard content.
- Seamless integration with digital evidence management (such as with Veritone iDEMS), case management, or FOIA workflow platforms.
- Comprehensive audit and compliance support, including logs of redaction actions and secure downloads.
AI action: Veritone Redact & Redaction Managed Service
Veritone offers a robust solution suite of public sector solutions, particularly for redaction, including, Veritone Redact, Redaction Managed Service, and iDEMS, that embodies the principles above.
- Veritone Redact: A cloud-based platform using AI to detect and redact sensitive visual and audio elements.
- Redaction Managed Service: A fully managed option where Veritone experts handle redaction workloads, ideal for agencies needing scale or surge support.
- iDEMS: a suite of AI-powered applications for the public sector, acting as an intelligent digital evidence management system that helps you access, search, manage, organize, and share digital evidence to accelerate investigations.
These solutions not only improve compliance and processing time but help agencies deliver redacted records effectively, supporting both internal and public-facing transparency goals.
Choosing the right FOIA redaction software
FOIA redaction software has become an essential tool for modern records management, enabling agencies to balance transparency with the protection of sensitive information. By leveraging AI-powered automated redaction tools, public agencies can significantly reduce manual labor, improve accuracy, maintain compliance, and respond to public records requests more efficiently. Beyond operational improvements, these solutions foster trust between agencies and the communities they serve by ensuring timely, secure, and consistent disclosure of information.
Investing in robust FOIA redaction solutions equips agencies to handle growing FOIA volumes, diverse media formats, and complex compliance requirements. With the right tools in place, agencies can transform redaction from a resource-heavy burden into a streamlined, reliable process that supports transparency, accountability, and operational excellence.
Sources:
https://www.justice.gov/oip/media/1398111/dl?inline
