The National Library's digital platform Digar is designed to preserve and make Estonia's printed heritage accessible. It also includes the article portal Deadigar, which provides access to the contents of newspapers and magazines.

However, when an ordinary user tries to search for Estonian articles on a personal computer, many publications show padlock icons on every date in the searchable calendar.

The reason is that this spring, Postimees Group, Õhtuleht Kirjastus and Delfi Meedia submitted requests to the National Library to exclude general data mining from their texts.

"This means that, under copyright law, data mining may be carried out in the library only for scientific purposes," National Library communications expert Signe Heiberg told ERR.

Digitizing printed editions is one of the National Library's duties for preserving printed heritage. About 30 percent of Estonian publications are now digitally available, although that figure also includes books, sheet music, maps and other materials.

No license is required for digitization, but the National Library has separate agreements with each publisher on how the content may be made available.

"Publishers cannot forbid the collection or access of works at an authorized workstation, but they can restrict access from outside the library — that is, via the web," Heiberg explained.

She added that each publisher decides which publication years to make publicly accessible. For example, Postimees is available on Digar up to 1991, while earlier issues of Edasi and Postimees published before 1944 are freely readable.

Õhtuleht has restricted access from the year 2000 onward, while Delfi Meedia — which publishes Eesti Ekspress, Maaleht, Eesti Päevaleht and several magazines — has limited access to its last ten years of content.

Õhtuleht's editor-in-chief Martin Šmutov said the reason for banning data mining is straightforward: the publication wants its content to be used in accordance with all terms of use.

"Access is still possible, but in line with the law," Šmutov added.

For research purposes, access to the content of Õhtuleht, Delfi Meedia and Postimees publications is available through Digar at the National Library's storage branch in Solaris Center. It is also currently accessible at the Estonian Literary Museum's archive library, Tallinn University of Technology Library, Tallinn University Academic Library and the University of Tartu Library.

When the National Library's main building on Tõnismägi reopens in May 2027, additional authorized workstations will be added there.

Asked whether the current restricted access to publications is reasonable or should be changed, Heiberg replied that the library works under the National Library Act, while data owners act based on their business interests.

"When works are protected by copyright, the National Library must follow the publisher's wishes," she said.

There are plans to update Digar in the future and Heiberg noted that a technical solution is being developed to allow data mining outside the library's authorized workstations.

Since the Legal Deposit Act took effect in 2017, publishers have been required to provide the National Library with both print files and online publication files for preservation. Before that, only printed copies were required.

According to Heiberg, digitization costs are not calculated by publication. The process is part of a broader cultural heritage preservation workflow consisting of multiple stages.

In February, a public debate arose in Estonia over whether AI systems should have free access to Estonian-language media content. At the time, Justice and Digital Minister Liisa Pakosta (Eesti 200) argued that it should be allowed to help fulfill the constitutional goal of ensuring the survival of the Estonian language.

Opponents of the idea countered that if media content is used for commercial purposes, permission should be sought from copyright holders and fair compensation paid.

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