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Takedown & Removal Policy – EN

TAKEDOWN & REMOVAL POLICY (EN)

Website Name – www.ambassadormelissawells.com

Effective Date: December 17, 2025

This Takedown & Removal Policy (“Policy”) governs the procedures, standards, and legal obligations relating to the removal, restriction, or review of any content displayed on www.ambassadormelissawells.com (“the Website”), a digital memorial dedicated to the life, legacy, and historical record of Melissa Foelsch Wells. This Policy exists to protect the dignity of individuals, ensure compliance with applicable laws and ethical norms, and uphold the integrity, mission, and cultural purpose of the memorial.

This Policy forms an integral part of the Website’s governance framework and must be interpreted alongside the Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, Content & Historical Integrity Policy, and User Submission Policy.

  1. Purpose and Scope of This Policy

The Website hosts historical materials, personal photographs, videos, biographical records, tribute submissions, and memories from multiple decades and jurisdictions. Because the content includes images of individuals, communities, foreign nationals, minors, and persons in vulnerable contexts, a structured takedown mechanism is required under:

  • the Brazilian General Data Protection Law (LGPD);
  • international privacy and personality rights principles;
  • ethical standards applicable to humanitarian, diplomatic, and historical records;
  • estate and posthumous dignity rights;
  • norms of museums, archives, and cultural memorials.

This Policy applies to all content, whether uploaded by the memorial curator, by users, or preserved from the personal archive of Melissa Foelsch Wells.

  1. Copyright and Attribution Statement

All photographs, videos, documents, personal writings, images, and other materials displayed on the Website originate either from the personal archive of Melissa Foelsch Wells, duly held and administered by her family and legal heirs, or from materials lawfully submitted by third parties. These materials are protected under applicable copyright, image, moral rights, cultural heritage, and posthumous personality rights.

Visitors to the Website acknowledge and agree that all content is provided exclusively for historical, educational, cultural, biographical, and commemorative purposes, and may not be reproduced, redistributed, adapted, published, screened, broadcast, used in audiovisual projects, incorporated into documentaries, or otherwise exploited for commercial or derivative purposes without prior written authorization from the Wells family and the lawful copyright holders.

Any institutional symbols, insignia, buildings, uniforms, flags, emblems, or identifiable references to the United Nations, U.S. Government, diplomatic missions, or other governmental or multilateral bodies that appear incidentally within the archive remain fully subject to their respective institutional copyright and usage rules. Their presence does not constitute endorsement or authorization, and such elements may not be copied, extracted, or repurposed.

Contributors of User Submissions warrant that they hold all necessary rights to the materials they upload and agree to provide proper attribution, when known, as part of the archival record. The Website reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to request clarification, proof of authorship, or additional permissions prior to publishing any material.

Unauthorized use, reproduction, modification, or exploitation of any content may constitute a copyright violation, breach of personality rights, cultural heritage infringement, or intellectual property misuse, and may result in immediate removal, referral to legal authorities, and pursuit of civil or criminal remedies under applicable law.

  1. Right to Request Removal

Any individual, institution, family member, organization, or rights-holder may request removal of content that:

  • includes their personal data, image, or likeness;
  • reveals sensitive information about them;
  • violates privacy, dignity, or personality rights;
  • misrepresents historical facts or harms contextual integrity;
  • infringes copyright or neighboring rights;
  • belongs to a third party who did not authorize publication;
  • may cause political, social, humanitarian, or security harm;
  • contains offensive, discriminatory, defamatory, or abusive material;
  • may result in reputational damage or violate cultural rights;
  • constitutes unlawful, dangerous, or harmful content.

This right applies regardless of the date of creation of the material, the jurisdiction in which the photograph was taken, or the identity of the photographer.

  1. Historical Exception for Images of Minors

The Website may display archival images of minors in sensitive circumstances when such images are historically relevant and necessary to document humanitarian realities encountered by Ambassador Melissa Foelsch Wells. These images are used under the legal basis of historical and cultural preservation (LGPD Art. 7, §4º).

However, any individual depicted—whether they were a minor or adult at the time—may request removal of their own image. Upon verification, removal will occur promptly and respectfully.

  1. Categories of Content Subject to Immediate Removal

The memorial will immediately remove, upon notice or discovery, any content that:

  1. Involves minors in vulnerable circumstances;
  2. Reveals sensitive humanitarian or diplomatic operations;
  3. Contains explicit, defamatory, hateful, or abusive speech;
  4. Exposes individuals depicted to political, social or personal harm;
  5. Violates confidentiality, diplomatic secrecy, or UN/governmental restrictions;
  6. Appears to derive from classified, restricted, or non-public archives;
  7. Has been manipulated, altered, or misused, including through deepfakes, artificial alteration, or synthetic media;
  8. Infringes copyright or moral rights of photographers or institutions;
  9. Was uploaded with malicious intent or contrary to the Website’s mission.

These cases are handled under an accelerated takedown protocol, with removal occurring as soon as reasonably possible.

  1. Submission of a Takedown Request

Requests may be submitted via:

Email: ambassadormelissawells@gmail.com

Form (if applicable): https://ambassadormelissawells.com/contact-us/

A valid request should include:

  • Identification of the requester;
  • Precise link or description of the content to be removed;
  • Explanation of the concern or violation;
  • Proof of relationship (if claiming rights on behalf of another person or institution);
  • Any supporting documentation (legal, photographic, institutional, or contextual).

The Website reserves the right to request additional information where needed.

  1. Review Process and Timeline

Upon receiving a takedown request, the Website will:

  1. Acknowledge receipt;
  2. Conduct preliminary analysis;
  3. Assess the nature of the claim under LGPD, intellectual property laws, historical ethics, and humanitarian principles;
  4. Remove the content immediately in urgent or risk-sensitive scenarios;
  5. Complete final review and provide a decision within 15 calendar days, unless complexity requires additional time, in which case the requester will be notified.

Urgent cases, such as risks to safety, dignity, minors, or vulnerable communities, receive expedited handling, with removal typically occurring within the shortest feasible timeframe.

  1. Temporary Removal Pending Investigation

In any case where:

  • authenticity is uncertain;
  • rights ownership is unclear;
  • sensitive issues appear plausible;
  • institutional contestation is received (e.g., UN Photo, State Department, embassies);

The Website may temporarily unpublish the content while verifying the circumstances. This measure protects individuals and the integrity of the memorial.

  1. Decisions and Outcomes

Following review, the Website may:

  • permanently delete the content;
  • temporarily restrict or anonymize it;
  • request further contextualization;
  • apply blurring, cropping, or redaction;
  • deny the request with explanation (rare and only when justified);
  • issue a preservation-and-ethics justification where historic value outweighs privacy concerns (subject to strict ethical analysis).

The decision will be communicated in writing to the requester.

  1. No Right to Circumvent Moderation

Users, institutions, or other parties may not:

  • repost removed content;
  • submit materially identical content;
  • bypass moderation via alternative file types or formats;
  • use automated systems to re-upload restricted materials.

Violation may result in:

  • account or submission ban;
  • notification to appropriate authorities;
  • legal action for damages or injunctive relief.
  1. Abuse, Harassment, or Inappropriate Requests

Requests submitted in bad faith, including:

  • attempts to manipulate historical facts,
  • harassment of the memorial or its curators,
  • political exploitation of the takedown process,
  • threats or abusive language,
  • will not be accepted and may be escalated legally.

All communications must be respectful and consistent with the memorial’s purpose.

  1. Legal Enforcement and Violations

Any intentional misuse of the Website, including:

  • unauthorized reproduction of archived materials,
  • distribution of content for political, commercial, or defamatory purposes,
  • manipulation of images (including AI/deepfakes),
  • exploitation of the diplomat’s likeness or memory,

will be pursued through legal action under:

  • Brazilian civil, copyright, and LGPD laws;
  • international copyright and personality rights;
  • applicable laws in the requester’s jurisdiction where relevant.

The family, as legal heirs and rights-holders, reserves full rights to enforce protection of the archive and Melissa Foelsch Wells’ posthumous personality rights.

  1. Institutional and Multilateral Requests

The Website will comply promptly with takedown or correction requests submitted by:

  • the United Nations (UN Photo or related agencies),
  • governmental bodies,
  • diplomatic institutions,
  • journalists seeking accuracy,
  • recognized human rights or humanitarian organizations,

especially when the request relates to security, ethics, or contextual integrity.

  1. Preservation Commitment

The memorial is committed to preserving historical authenticity while honoring ethical boundaries. Thus:

  • materials may be removed to prevent harm,
  • contextual notes may be added when appropriate,
  • the archive may evolve over time as new information or sensitivities arise.

Preservation does not override human dignity, safety, or ethical obligations.

  1. Amendments

This Policy may be updated to reflect new legal requirements, historical-ethical standards, or archival best practices. The most recent version will always be published on the Website with its effective date.

  1. Contact Information

For takedown or removal requests, or for any concerns regarding this Policy, please contact:

Email: ambassadormelissawells@gmail.com

Data Protection Officer (DPO)/Administrator: Christopher Stephan Wells