National Library Takedowns Policy

Purpose

The National Library of Australia has a mandated role to collect and preserve Australian cultural heritage, provide open and equitable access to information, and support the growth of knowledge and ideas. Given these responsibilities, materials provided online will be taken down (or have other access restrictions imposed) only in extraordinary circumstances. In making collections and services available online, the National Library respects jurisdictional legal considerations. 

This page documents our principles and procedures for considering requests that material should not be publicly available. It includes the process for making a request that content held by the National Library be taken down, de-referenced, or have its access restricted.

Background

The National Library is a member of National and State Libraries Australia (NSLA) and endorses NSLA's position statement and procedural guidelines on takedown requests.

The NSLA position statement expresses commitment to freedom of expression and universal access to information. It notes that libraries are responding to community expectations for greater access to online collections. It states that NSLA libraries will take down online content or impose other access restrictions only in extraordinary circumstances.

Both the NSLA and National Library recognise that there may be occasions where material is made available that is considered to breach privacy, copyright, defamation, other relevant legislation, or contain material that is considered objectionable or harmful under Australian law. The NSLA position statement sets out principles which will be followed when considering takedown requests. The National Library acts in good faith when providing access to content that is part of its collections, while at the same time respecting intellectual property, privacy and other rights, and agreements with donors and suppliers.

As a means of promoting a consistent response to takedown requests, the National Library agrees to take into account the following general principles:

• The broadest possible online access to collection materials will be provided
• Permanent access restrictions, deindexing or takedown will be considered as an exceptional response
• Requests for access restrictions, deindexing or takedown will take into account the relationship of the requestor to the material
• Requests for access restrictions, deindexing or takedown will take into account specific jurisdictional legislation and related exemptions
• Access restrictions or takedown of material made available online should, as far as practical, be openly acknowledged with a statement noting the takedown
• As circumstances change, or after a period of time, online material that has been taken down, restricted or deindexed should be reviewed and may be reinstated

Scope

Our Takedowns Policy applies solely to content made available by the National Library of Australia. It may be beyond our control to ensure full or permanent takedown of content on platforms other than those managed by the National Library. The National Library is not responsible for policy or decisions made on takedown requests by external parties. 

Definitions

Your takedown request should clearly highlight the grounds for the National Library to take action and, if applicable, your legal interests in the material. Reasons that you believe the material should not be available include:

• Copyright: Use this option when there is a question over copyright or copyright infringement in the material
• Cultural concerns: Use this option when the material may contain culturally sensitive information not intended for public distribution
• Defamation: Use this option when you believe the item contains defamation of a person
• Harmful: Use this option when the material may be considered harmful to others under Australian law
• ICIP: Use this option when the item relates to Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property
• Legal: Use this option when the takedown request relates to a breach of Australian law
• Objection to content: Use this option when there are concerns around the content of the item  
• Privacy concerns: Use this option when the request references any concerns regarding the privacy of an individual in publicly accessible material e.g. the current address or phone number is accessible  
• Sensitive government data: Use this option when sensitive government data, or government data that is not intended for public distribution, has been made available to the public in error

Process

After your request is received, we will begin the following process: 

1. we will acknowledge your request within three working days
2. we will make an initial assessment within seven working days
3. we may contact you for additional details or clarification during this period
4. we may decide to temporarily remove access until a final decision is reached
5. once a decision is reached, we will notify you of the outcome

Outcomes

The National Library will make every effort to resolve requests swiftly and to the satisfaction of both parties, and the following are some of the possible outcomes:

• access to the material is restored unchanged
• access to the material is restored with changes
• access to material is removed

The National Library advises, given the complexity of the online environment, that when a valid request results in the takedown of material:

• the processes involved in removing material may take time
• it may be beyond our control to ensure that they are comprehensive or successfully permanently removed or suppressed on platforms other than the National Library’s digital platforms
• that when material is altered, blocked or removed on a National Library digital platform, where practicable, we will provide a general statement to its removal that ensures privacy of all parties involved

Make a takedown request

If you find material in the National Library’s collections which you believe matches the examples provided in the definitions section, you can submit a takedown request:

Make a takedown request

When you submit your request, you will be asked to provide:

• your contact details
• the reason for your request, for example, copyright, privacy, cultural concerns or defamation
• full description and details of the material
• exact and full internet address where you found the material
• if the request relates to copyright or legal requests, evidence that you are the rights holder or their agent or legal documentation around the item