CBP plans to use Google AI to recommend FOIA redactions

The change is intended to speed responses, but employees will review proposed removals before records are released.

Customs and Border Protection plans to use Google AI to identify passages for possible withholding in Freedom of Information Act responses, making automated screening part of federal disclosure work. Internal DHS material says the rollout should reach records tied to more than 10 percent of FOIA requests by September's end, about 100,000 to 140,000 cases; employees will check the proposed removals before the records go out. The agency says automation should shorten processing, while leaving people responsible for reviewing what is disclosed. Other efforts include Interior's Microsoft-based screening for possible attorney-client material, Justice Department video processing with Veriton's aiWARE, and an HHS system called FRED for unidentified information. The use of these tools raises concerns that automated redaction could hide more records, a risk highlighted by a University of Florida FOIA expert.