Censorship of consultation responses: FOI release
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Information requested
Responses to the following Government consultation have blocks of text replaced with "Redacted text":
1) Policies, procedures and training requirements relating to content redaction.
2) If responses are automatically redacted:
2.1) The systems used.
2.2) A summary of the rules used to identify content to be removed.
3) A list of companies and organisations that advise the government on, or provide, redaction/censorship services.
4) What stage the redaction is applied at e.g. prior to being reviewed or only for public display?
Response
1) Policies, procedures and training requirements relating to content redaction.
I enclose a copy of some the information you requested. Scottish Government staff are provided with guidance and training on how to redact information in relation to information requests under FOISA or the EIRS.
I have attached the internal guidance relating to redactions.
Scottish Government staff are also directed to consult the guidance provided by the Office of the Scottish Information Commissioner (OSIC) to provide further assistance on applying exemptions and redacting information. You can find the link to the website below:
Law and Guidance | Scottish Information Commissioner (foi.scot)
The Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have asked for because we do not have polices or procedures specifically for redactions.
This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.
2) If responses are automatically redacted:
2.1) The systems used.
2.2) A summary of the rules used to identify content to be removed.
The Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for because responses are not automatically redacted. This must be done manually. Therefore no systems are used.
This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested for questions 2, 2.1 and 2.2. .
3) A list of companies and organisations that advise the government on, or provide, redaction/censorship services.
The Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for because we do not receive advice from any companies and organisations that provide redaction/censorship services.
This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.
4) What stage the redaction is applied at e.g. prior to being reviewed or only for public display?
Redactions are applied when all information is collated and reviewed for disclosure. This is done at the early stages in a request and prior to being issued or published.
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Correspondence Unit
Email: contactus@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrews House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
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