Data Redaction Services | Thorntons Solicitors

When fulfilling a Subject Access Request (SAR) or Freedom of Information response, it is often necessary to redact information that you are not obliged to disclose. This could be to protect a third party or to prevent public disclosure of commercially sensitive information.

Redacting documents can be a costly and time-consuming process. Often organisations carry out a manual redaction exercise that can result in inaccuracies and complaints. Failure to implement a robust process for making accurate redactions increases the risk of your organisation suffering a data breach caused by the accidental disclosure of personal data belonging to a third party.

Our Data Protection team is available to support you with completing redaction exercises securely and efficiently, in tandem with our wider service offering.

Frequently asked questions

Here we answer some of the commonly asked questions on redaction.

What is redaction?

Redaction is the process of manually or digitally masking data. In a data protection context, when processing a Subject Access Request (SAR), it is important to only provide copies of the requestor’s personal data. Consequently, organisations are often required, under data protection law, to redact information relating to other people from documents before disclosing them under a SAR, subject to some exceptions.

What information should be redacted?

This will depend on the nature of the task and processing activities you are undertaking, but the redaction of personal data relating to third parties and the redaction of commercially sensitive information are the most common types of redaction exercises.

Our team can work with you to review your redaction requirements and advise you on the extent to which redaction is required and recommended.

What is the redaction process?

The redaction process involves editing information to obscure part of a piece of text so it is not visible to the receiving audience. The first step is to identify and agree the information you wish to redact and then you can go ahead with the redaction, either manually or digitally.

The team at Thorntons uses a digital application to facilitate redactions for our clients, which streamlines the entire process with improved accuracy.

Can I outsource redaction?

Yes, you can outsource redaction to a third party to support you in the completion of this task. It is often more cost-effective to hand this job over to an expert and it is crucial to engage the skills and services of an experienced and reputable firm, such as Thorntons, that you can rely upon to execute this sensitive task confidentially and securely.

How can Thorntons help?

Our experienced Data Protection team can support your organisation with guidance on redaction requirements and professional redaction services on a regular or ad-hoc basis. Using our secure digital application, we can streamline the entire process for you with improved accuracy.

Please call our specialist Data Protection team on 03330 430350 for more information on our redaction services. Or complete our online enquiry form and an expert in our Data Protection team will call you back.