US customs agency plans AI-assisted FOIA redactions
Customs and Border Protection plans to use Google AI tools to recommend redactions, with Homeland Security staff reviewing the suggestions.
US Customs and Border Protection plans to use Google AI tools to recommend information for redaction in documents requested under the Freedom of Information Act, according to an Engadget report citing GitHub documents seen by The Washington Post.
The report says the Department of Homeland Security plans to apply the tools to records covering more than 10 per cent of FOIA requests, estimated at 100,000 to 140,000. The reported deadline is the end of September, though the documents cited do not specify a year.
DHS employees are expected to review the recommendations. The documents describe the aim as reducing processing times and say staff will check that requesters receive “accurate and complete” information.
The plans put automation into a process that determines what the public can see in government records. A FOIA expert quoted by The Washington Post warned that AI redaction could become a powerful tool for secrecy. The report does not establish whether the system will lead to more information being withheld.
Engadget also reported that the Interior Department uses Microsoft tools to identify potential attorney-client information for redaction, the Justice Department uses an AI tool to redact video, and Health and Human Services is developing a redaction tool. These details, like the DHS plans, are attributed to The Washington Post’s reporting.
