A computer implemented system and method is provided for imposing access controls on selective portions of electronic documents by defining data attributes as conditions for access to particular information in a document. Commands from a redactor identify at least one portion of an electronic document to be subject to access control. A set of selectable access control directives defining conditions for accessing the identified portions is presented to the redactor. Access control is imposed on the identified portions in accordance with the defined conditions in response to receiving the selective access control directives.