Identifying and redacting PII related to minors in court records is challenging. The trial courts in Los Angeles County are testing a new tool using artificial intelligence to aid in the process.
Today, court staff is manually entering information to be redacted and then searching the documents for matches in the OCR text; a process similar to using Find and Replace or Control-F in Microsoft Word or Adobe. This is a tedious, time-consuming process and only works on typewritten information.
Accenture PLC is the vendor for the AI solution. The proposed solution will remove personal data such as social security numbers, addresses, and medical information from case files involving minors. Court staff will still be providing a list of specific names and information. However, the solution will then search the document to identify characters and patterns and suggest redactions. Court staff will then review the suggested redactions and decide whether to accept or reject.
The Los Angeles Superior Court indicated the solution is still being developed, and there is a chance they may never use it. The solution will be managed by the Court Technology Services division to control access to the tool, and once documents are verified only logged-in users will be able to view the redacted documents.
There have been several articles written about this initiative in recent months. See Bloomberg news for full article AI Tool to Redact Minors’ Info in Testing for Los Angeles Court (bloomberglaw.com). Like most courts, Los Angeles is looking to protect the sensitive data but do so in an efficient manner. Court Presiding Judge Samantha Jessner told Bloomberg Law, “I’m a strong believer in the fact that I think [AI] can be used for good,” and the redaction tool, “would help us be efficient, handle a lot of like tasks.”
There is some apprehension about how effective the solution can be according to scholars from UC Berkeley and Fordham University School of Law. Citing AI models are more competent with white people because they are better represented in training data. Although one person indicated, “Bias in this case is less likely if the tool only relies on court documents for training, which better reflect the demographics that go through the court system than general internet data.”
Extract has been offering automated redaction solutions for years. Our advanced software is currently configured to identify and redact personally identifiable information like social security numbers in specific cases or also the name of a minor within a document. We incorporate machine learning into our process by adapting the software from user feedback.
If you’re interested in seeing a demonstration of how our software works, please contact us, and we’d be happy to show you.
About the Author: Troy Burke
With 30 years of experience providing clients with stellar service and strategic solutions for growth and development, Troy is committed to ensuring his customers receive the highest quality solution, training and support with every implementation. He frequently speaks on the topic of redaction and is actively involved with National Association of Court Management, Property Records Industry Association and several other government organizations.