Social media platforms: Govt-appointed appellate panels to be arrange in 3 months

The authorities on Friday additional tweaked the IT Rules for establishing of grievance appellate committees (GAC), which is able to look into complaints by customers of social media companies like Twitter, Facebook and different such platforms. These committees will adjudicate complaints by customers referring to blocking of content material or accounts by the grievance redressal officers of the social media companies involved. These grievance appellate committees shall be arrange inside three months, in accordance with a gazette notification on Friday.

The authorities had first talked about constituting GACs in June however had stated that if the trade got here up with a self-regulating mechanism, then it was prepared to contemplate that as a substitute. However, the trade’s initiative for a self-regulating mechanism failed as a consequence of lack of unanimity amongst all of the gamers. “The central government shall, by notification, establish one or more grievance appellate committees within three months from the date of commencement of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2022,” the notification stated.

Each appellate committee will encompass a chairperson and two whole-time members appointed by the Central authorities, of which one shall be a member ex-officio and two shall be impartial members. Any individual aggrieved by a call of the grievance officer can enchantment to the grievance appellate committee inside a interval of thirty days from the date of receipt of communication from the grievance officer. The appellate committee will then have to take care of such appeals inside thirty days from the date of receipt of such appeals. FE