GAO_AUDIT_MEMO.md

# Government Accountability Office (GAO)
## Audit Memorandum

### Subject:
Preliminary Review – Federal FOIA Intelligence Search

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## Objective

To assess whether the system:
- Complies with federal transparency norms
- Introduces privacy or security risks
- Aligns with responsible AI principles

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## Scope of Review

- Application architecture
- Data handling practices
- AI usage controls
- Governance documentation

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## Findings

### 1. Data Collection
✔ No personal data collected  
✔ No scraping or mirroring  
✔ No background ingestion  

### 2. AI Use
✔ Disabled by default  
✔ User-initiated only  
✔ Disclosure-mandated  

### 3. Security
✔ Stateless execution  
✔ No persistent storage  
✔ HTTPS communications  

### 4. Compliance
✔ FOIA-aligned  
✔ NIST AI RMF aligned  
✔ Privacy Framework aligned  

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## Risks Identified

| Risk | Mitigation |
|----|-----------|
| AI misinterpretation | Disclosures + citations |
| Source misuse | Link-out only |
| Overreliance on AI | Court warnings |

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## GAO Conclusion

> The system presents **low operational, privacy, and security risk** and
demonstrates best practices for responsible AI in public-record research.

No corrective action recommended at this time.