![]() In the medical field, PHI (Private Health Information) may need to be redacted to comply with laws like HIPAA. Certain financial information may also be kept secure by redacting it in a PDF. ![]() Businesses can protect trade secrets and proprietary information when sharing documents. Sensitive or identifying images might also be redacted, sometimes including just faces in images.īesides being useful in legal settings, PDF redaction can be used to protect similarly sensitive information in professional communications between businesses or clients. Courts specifically mandate that certain personally identifiable information (PII) be redacted, so redaction is used especially often in legal settings. This includes information that could pose identity theft risks, information relevant to ongoing investigations, classified information, and information deemed otherwise unnecessary and too private for the public. When court documents are published or shared with other parties, sensitive or private information is redacted. When a record is being withheld in its entirety, custodians must reply to the OPRA request and explain the reason why the custodian cannot comply with the request.You may be most familiar with redaction in legal or government-related documents. 47:1A-5g states that if a custodian is unable to comply with a request for access, the custodian shall "indicate the specific basis therefore" on the request form and promptly return it to the requester. The bottom line is that the requester has a right to know the reason for the redaction, and the custodian has the responsibility to provide a reasonable explanation. Sometimes it is clear from inspection (a entry called "Social Security Number" has a black out over where the number would appear). This principle also applies if pages of information are redacted. ![]() When redactions are made to a record, the custodian can use either the request form to explain why those elements of a record are redacted, or use a separate document, depending on the circumstances, but also referring to the OPRA exception being claimed. Techniques such as "hiding" text or changing its color so it is invisible should not be used as sophisticated users can detect the changes. If an electronic document is subject to redaction (i.e., word processing or Adobe Acrobat files) custodians should be sure to delete the material being redacted. The purpose is to provide formal communication to the requester making it clear that material was not provided. If full pages are to be redacted, the custodian should give the requester a visible indication that a particular page of that record is being redacted, such as a blank sheet bearing the word "Page redacted" or a written list of the specific page numbers being withheld. If "white-out" correction fluid is used to redact material, some visual symbol should be placed in the space formerly occupied by the redacted material to show the location of redacted material. ![]() The blacked out area shows where information was redacted, while the double copying ensures that the requester will not be able to "see-through" to the original, non-accessible text. Then provide a copy of the blacked-out record to the requester.Make a paper copy of the original record and manually "black out" the information on the copy with a dark colored marker.If a record contains material that must be redacted, such as a social security number or unlisted phone number, redaction may be accomplished by using a visually obvious method that shows the requester the specific location of any redacted material in the record.įor example, if redacting a social security number or similar type of small-scale redaction, custodian's should: Words, sentences, paragraphs, or whole pages may be subject to redaction. Redaction means editing a record to prevent public viewing of material that should not be disclosed. Under OPRA, a government record that is otherwise publicly accessible may contain non-disclosable information that should be redacted.
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