DRAFT draft-2026-10b: written in plain language for review by a lawyer before launch. Not legal advice.
Report a site, copyright notices and takedowns
Honest Local Web hosts sites that our clients build and run themselves. We don't write or review their content. Here's how to tell us about a problem.
1. Quick report (anyone)
Every client site has a Report this site link at the bottom. Choose a reason and send it. The site is hidden immediately and automatically, and the owner is emailed the reason. The owner can fix the problem and republish. If they republish content that is reported again or clearly breaks our Acceptable Use Policy, the account may be closed.
2. Copyright notices (Canada's notice-and-notice regime)
Under sections 41.25 to 41.27 of Canada's Copyright Act, a copyright owner can send a notice of claimed infringement to a host. Send it to copyright@honestlocalweb.ca and include, in writing:
- your name and address (and the owner's, if you're acting for them);
- the work you own and what rights you claim;
- the exact page address (honestlocalweb.ca/<name>/) and what on it infringes;
- the date and time of the alleged infringement.
What happens: we forward your notice to the site owner by email, as the Act requires, and tell you it was forwarded (or why it couldn't be). We keep the records the Act requires for 6 months (longer if court proceedings are started). As the law requires, notices containing settlement demands or offers, requests for payment or personal information, or links to them, will not be forwarded. Notice-and-notice doesn't require a host to remove anything, and a notice by itself doesn't hide the page. If you also click "Report this site" at the bottom of the page, it is hidden while the owner reviews it.
Tip: put the full page address in your email, like https://honestlocalweb.ca/business-name/. That's how our system finds the right site. This all happens automatically, usually within 15 minutes.
3. Defamation and other legal complaints
Email legal@honestlocalweb.ca with the page address, the exact words you say are false and harmful, why they're false, and your contact details. We will normally hide the page while the site owner responds. We don't decide who is right; that's between you and the site owner, or for a court. A court order will be followed.
4. Police and government
Send requests or orders to legal@honestlocalweb.ca. For anything involving a child's safety, contact police or Cybertip.ca first.
Response times
Quick reports take effect immediately. Copyright notices are forwarded automatically, normally within 2 business days. Other written complaints get an automatic acknowledgement, and we aim to act within 5 business days. Urgent illegal content (scams, phishing, malware, threats, child exploitation): use the Report link so it's hidden at once.
If your site was hidden (counter-notice)
If you're the site owner and believe a report was wrong, fix anything that needs fixing and republish from "My site". To dispute a copyright or legal complaint, reply in writing to legal@honestlocalweb.ca with: the page address, why the content is lawful (for example, you own the photo or have a licence), your name, address and email, and a statement that you agree we may pass your reply to the complainant. We may forward it to the complainant. We may keep the page offline if we believe it puts us at legal risk, if the complaint is backed by a court order, or until the dispute is resolved.