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This is a prototype vision of how a future government service could work. It's not a real service yet, but we're exploring what it could look like. Your feedback will help shape the real service.

Step 5: View Redacted Output - FOI Redaction Walkthrough

See the document with PII replaced by redaction markers

Walkthrough progress

Step 5 of 5 • 2 minutes

Step 5 2 minutes

View Redacted Output

See how the AI has replaced personal information with redaction markers while preserving the document structure.

Find your FOI Redaction tool URL in CloudFormation Outputs
The FOI Redaction tool ready to process sensitive documents

Expected outcome

  • Redacted version of the document is displayed
  • All detected PII is replaced with appropriate markers
  • Document structure and non-PII content remains intact
  • You understand the redaction marker format

What you should see

After reviewing the detected PII, you'll see the redacted output - your original FOI response document with all personal information replaced by redaction markers.

Before and after redaction

Here's how the AI transforms your document:

Understanding redaction markers

The AI uses standardized redaction markers to show what type of information was removed:

Redaction marker formats (AC-3.4.3)
PII Type Original Example Redaction Marker
Person Name John David Smith [REDACTED: NAME]
Address 15 Elm Street, Manchester, M1 4BT [REDACTED: ADDRESS]
Phone Number 07712 345678 [REDACTED: PHONE]
Email Address john.smith@example.com [REDACTED: EMAIL]
National Insurance Number AB 12 34 56 C [REDACTED: NINO]

Why use markers instead of black bars? Redaction markers maintain readability while showing what information was removed. This helps requesters understand what was redacted and supports transparency about FOI exemptions applied.

What's preserved in the redacted document

The AI redaction preserves everything except personal information:

Document structure

Paragraphs, headings, tables, and formatting remain intact. Only PII text is replaced.

Non-personal information

Policy details, decisions, dates, locations (when not part of addresses) - all readable.

Context and meaning

The FOI response remains understandable. Markers like [REDACTED: NAME] show what type of information was removed.

Compliance evidence

Audit trail shows what PII was detected, confidence scores, and redaction decisions made.

Export options

In a production system, the redacted document would be available in multiple formats:

PDF with redaction markers
The primary output - ready to send to FOI requesters. PII replaced with [REDACTED: TYPE] markers.
PDF with black boxes (optional)
Traditional redaction style with black bars covering PII. Some councils prefer this format for visual consistency with manual redactions.
Redaction report (CSV/JSON)
Detailed log of all PII detected, including original text, location, confidence scores, and redaction decisions. For compliance audits and ICO requests.
Review interface (HTML)
Interactive interface for FOI officers to review detections, manually approve/reject redactions, and add manual redactions for items AI missed.

Compliance and transparency benefits

GDPR and Data Protection

  • Reduced risk of accidental disclosure: AI consistently detects PII that human reviewers might miss due to fatigue or time pressure
  • Audit trail for ICO compliance: Complete log of what PII was detected, when, and what redaction decisions were made
  • Demonstrable due diligence: Shows council applied thorough, systematic PII detection process before releasing FOI responses

FOI Act Compliance

  • Faster response times: 80% reduction in redaction time helps councils meet 20-day FOI response deadline
  • Consistent application of Section 40 (personal information exemption): AI applies same PII detection standards across all FOI requests
  • Better resource allocation: FOI officers spend time on complex exemption judgments (Section 42, 43, etc.) rather than line-by-line redaction

Transparency and Public Trust

  • Clear redaction markers: Requesters understand what type of information was removed and why (personal data)
  • Reduced over-redaction: AI only flags actual PII, not entire paragraphs "to be safe"
  • Improved FOI service quality: Faster responses with thorough PII protection increases public confidence

Production consideration: Final human review is always recommended before publishing FOI responses. Use AI to do the heavy lifting (finding 95%+ of PII automatically), then FOI officers perform a quick 2-3 minute review to catch edge cases and apply judgment on borderline redactions.

You've completed the walkthrough!

You've seen how AI detects and redacts personal information in FOI responses. In just a few minutes, you've experienced technology that could save your council 200+ hours per year while improving compliance.

View summary and key takeaways

Troubleshooting

Redacted output not showing

If the redacted document doesn't appear:

  • Check PII detection completed successfully (processing status shows "Complete")
  • Refresh the interface page
  • Check browser console for JavaScript errors
  • Verify Lambda function has permissions to write to S3
  • Check CloudWatch logs for redaction processing errors
Redacted text appears garbled or incorrectly formatted

If the redacted output has formatting issues:

  • Check original document was a properly formatted PDF (not corrupted)
  • Verify text extraction worked correctly (check Textract output)
  • Complex layouts (multi-column, tables) may have layout preservation issues
  • Try exporting as plain text if formatting is critical
  • Review redaction logic to ensure marker placement is correct
Can't download or export redacted document

If export/download doesn't work:

  • Check S3 bucket has public read permissions for redacted documents (or use pre-signed URLs)
  • Verify API Gateway has correct CORS headers for downloads
  • Check browser's download settings aren't blocking files
  • Try right-clicking the download link and selecting "Save Link As..."
  • Check CloudWatch logs for S3 access errors
Note Screenshot placeholder: In production, this page would include side-by-side screenshots of the original and redacted documents, with zoom callouts showing before/after examples of redaction markers in context.

Need help?

If you're stuck, check the troubleshooting section or contact us.