Book page:  Content Removal

1.

Policy statement

Serving to ensure the maintenance of good standards of content in the Exchange, the Content Removal policy outlines the conditions under which content in the Exchange will be removed if it is determined to be unsuitable.

The Exchange is committed to upholding the standard of content in the Exchange, as outlined in the Code of Practice Policy. Where the standard of content in the Exchange is deemed to be unsuitable, the processes outlined in this Content Removal Policy will be pursued.

The Australian Learning and Teaching Council reserves the right to remove content that it deems unsuitable on the Exchange.

An Australian Learning and Teaching Council staff member who identifies any content considered to be potentially unsuitable is required to record and notify this using the procedures outlined in section 2 of this policy.

A user may notify the Exchange of content they consider to be potentially unsuitable, using the procedures outlined in section 2 of this policy. Such notifications will be treated as confidential.

1.2. Reasons for content being deemed unsuitable

Content may be deemed to be unsuitable for different reasons, including but not limited to the following:

1.2.1

The content contravenes the Exchange Code of Practice or other Policies.

1.2.2

The content is not of sufficient quality to meet the standards set out in the Code of Practice Policy.

1.2.3

The content is for primarily commercial rather than educational purposes.

1.3. Membership rights

A user who contributes content deemed to be highly unsuitable in not conforming to the Exchange Code of Practice policy may have their membership of the Exchange revoked.

2.

Procedures

2.1. Determinations on suitability of content

The Exchange User Support Manager will be responsible for reviewing content notified as being potentially unsuitable, and ensuring a rapid determination and resolution of the matter, using the procedures outlined in section 3 of this policy.

Matters which are unable to be resolved within 2 working days will be notified to the  Director - Communications and Networks.

The Exchange User Support Manager  will prepare a 3-monthly report for the ALTC Director - Communications and Networks, on the incidence of notifications of potentially unsuitable content, and content deemed to be unsuitable, including the associated response and resolution times.

2.2. Notification of content considered to be unsuitable

Notifications of content considered to be unsuitable will be treated in confidence.

2.2.1

By the Exchange staff

A staff member who considers content to be unsuitable is required to record the instance, providing sufficient detail for the content to be located (for example, title, url, date of publication, according to the type of content), and the date on which the content was viewed. All reasonable attempts should be made to provide this record of notification to the Exchange Content Management within 1 working day of identifying a possible problem.

2.2.2

By users

A user wishing to notify an instance of content on the Exchange that they consider to be unsuitable may report their concerns by telephone, email, or post:

The Exchange User Support Manager

The Australian Learning and Teaching Council
Post: PO Box 2375, Strawberry Hills NSW 2012 Australia
Phone: 02 8667 8500
Email: support@altcexchange.edu.au

The notification should include sufficient detail for the content to be located (for example, title, url, date of publication, according to the type of content), the date on which the content was viewed by the user, and the users contact details.

2.3. Determination on suitability of content

When content is notified as being considered unsuitable, the Exchange User Support Manager will review the content in order to determine its suitability. This review will normally occur within 24 hours of the notification having been received. The review will be carried out using the Exchange Code of Practice and other Policies as a point of reference. A record will be made of the determination, including its rationale based on these policies.

2.4. Actions following a determination

In cases where content is deemed to be unsuitable, the Exchange User Support Manager will:

• immediately hide the content from public access in the Exchange

• contact the contributor of that content to outline the reason for the notification, and to invite the contributor to reconsider the content

• liaise with the contributor of the content to resolve the matter

• where contributors publish commercial content or use the Exchange to publish spam,  hide content from the public and revoke the contributor's account without notification

In cases where the suitability of the content is contentious, the Exchange User Support Manager will bring the matter to the attention of the ALTC Chief Information Officer, for resolution.

A user who notified the potential unsuitability of some content will only be provided with feedback on the outcome in cases where the user was affected (for example, where they believe their own Intellectual Property rights had not been respected).

A user who contributes content deemed to be highly unsuitable in not conforming to the Exchange Code of Practice policy may have their membership of the Exchange revoked.

2.5. Grievance

The Exchange Rights Management Policy outlines the policy and procedures for grievances regarding content and/or its removal.

3.

Definitions

Content: comprises different types of material including resources, commentary on resources, discussions, and web pages. Content may include items which are held within the Exchange, and items which are held elsewhere, for example, in external websites or collections, but are linked to from within the Exchange.