Photo: PTI
The government had been working on the new rules for nearly five months after they were proposed through draft amendments to last year’s controversial Information Technology (Interim Guidelines and Digital Media Code of Ethics) Rules, 2021.
The move, which gives overriding power to the government through the creation of a grievance panel, is seen as a major setback for social media companies that have come under regulatory criticism in India for their content moderation practices and other decisions.
The Center had, in February 2021, notified the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Code of Ethics) Rules, 2021 for social media applications, online news portals, news aggregators and OTT platforms. However, even after providing the redressal mechanism through the IT Rules, 2021, many user complaints remained unresolved, prompting the government to step in and propose an appellate jurisdiction framework.
The government will form appeal panels for social media complaints
Under the new rules, a three-member Appellate Committee(s) will be set up within a period of three months, said a gazette notification issued by MeitY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology).
“The Central Government shall, by notification, set up one or more grievance appeal committees within three months from the date of commencement of the Information Technology (Intermediate Guidelines and Digital Media Code of Ethics) Amendment Rules, 2022,” it said. notification.
“The focus of the amendment to the interim guidelines is on protecting internet users,” IT minister Ashwini Vaishnav said on Twitter.
Under the new rules, if a person’s social media account faces action from a company and he or she fails to get any satisfactory redress from its grievance officer, the user can file an appeal with the GAC within 30 days. The GAC will handle complaints “expeditiously and attempt to resolve them within 30 calendar days,” the new rules say.
The new guidelines also state that in dealing with the complaint, the GAC may seek assistance from any person who has the necessary qualification, experience and expertise in the matter. “Any order passed by the Grievance Appellate Committee shall be implemented by the intermediary (social media platforms) concerned and a report thereof shall be uploaded on its website,” the rules state.
“The GAC shall adopt an online dispute resolution mechanism where the entire grievance process, from the filing of the grievance to its decision, shall be conducted through digital mode,” the rules add.
The government can ask internet giants to remove content for user complaints
The Center has also given itself powers to direct social media platforms to remove or moderate certain contentious content on user complaints.
Under the new rules, a person can now file an appeal with the government’s appeals panels if they have complaints against social media platforms’ decisions to host controversial content.
The government, in the new rules, has added objectionable religious content (intended to incite violence) along with pornography, trademark violations, false information and anything that could be a threat to the nation’s sovereignty that users can talk on social media platforms.
The amendments require social media platforms to receive user complaints within 24 hours and resolve them within 15 days thereafter, and to remove certain contentious content within 72 hours of reporting.
Complaints can range from child sexual abuse material to nudity to trademark and patent violations, misinformation, impersonation of another person, content that threatens the unity and integrity of the country as well as “mandatory” content that promotes “hostility between different groups on grounds of religion or caste with the intention of inciting violence”.
