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The University of Winnipeg

Take-Down Policy

The University Archives strives to responsibly provide online access to born-digital content, and digitized analogue content, wherever possible for the benefit of our community of users. In doing so, the Archives makes every effort to determine and respect the copyright status of records, to respect the privacy rights of individuals, to respect the cultural protocols associated with some records, and to uphold the conditions of access determined by donors, or imposed by the Archives, prior to making content publicly accessible on digital platforms.

Despite these best efforts, the Archives recognizes that digital content made accessible online may at times unintentionally infringe upon the intellectual property rights of record creators, violate privacy rights of individuals, disrespect cultural protocols, or be considered insensitive, offensive, or harmful to certain individuals or communities. In such cases, individuals may submit a “takedown” request on behalf of themselves or their communities until a suitable resolution with the Archives can be determined.

To submit a “takedown” request, please send a detailed email to archives@uwinnipeg.ca. Please include the following information: 

  • Your contact details (name, pronouns, email address, phone number)
  • A brief description of the content (ex. title in content description)
  • A URL (hyperlink) to where you found the content
  • The reason for your request. Please provide details. Examples might include:
    • The content infringes upon access conditions imposed on it by the donor or the Archives.
    • The content infringes upon your copyright, moral rights, or other intellectual property rights.
    • The content infringes upon your privacy rights.
    • The content violates the First Nations Principles of OCAP (Ownership, Control, Access, and Possession), the Principles of Ethical Métis Research, the National Inuit Strategy on Research (NISR), or the CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance.
    • The content disrespects cultural protocols relevant to the content.
    • The content is offensive, defamatory, harmful, explicit or otherwise objectionable.

We will contact you to let you know that your takedown request has been received. Upon receiving your request, the Archives will identify the content in question and assess the details provided in the request. This may include contacting you in order to fully understand the nature of the concern, as well as any relevant stakeholders, in an effort to determine a satisfactory resolution to the request or concern raised.

In some cases, the Archives will take down materials immediately upon receipt of a request where immediate response is deemed necessary, appropriate, and without having undue impact on Archives operations; however, the Archives reserves the right to perform a full assessment of a request before proceeding in any takedown measures, should they be deemed necessary.

If it is determined that the takedown request is reasonable, the Archives will proceed with addressing the issue, which may include any of the following examples: 

  • Amending the content description;
  • Redacting portions of the content and reuploading the redacted content;
  • Permanently removing the content from online accessible platforms;
  • Removing any online references to the content including in finding aids and through search engines;
  • Modifying the access conditions to the content;
  • Deaccessioning the content from the Archives.

Another possible resolution is that the content will be made fully accessible again in its original format, such as in the case of requests determined to be made in bad faith.

While we will aim to resolve the matter as quickly as possible. The amount of time it will take to work through each request may vary based on the nature of the request and the volume of the content implicated.

The Archives will work in good faith with you and any relevant stakeholders in resolving the request. However, should it not be possible to come to a mutually agreeable resolution, the Dean of the Library shall have final decision-making authority.