The central government on Friday, October 28, notified amendments to the IT Rules 2021 that will grant it the ability to rule on the validity of content moderation decisions taken by all intermediaries, including social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and others.
The latest amendments make it mandatory for social media intermediaries to comply with the Constitution of India provisions and the country’s sovereign laws.
IMPORTANT
— Kanchan Gupta 🇮🇳 (@KanchanGupta) October 28, 2022
Government of #India has amended IT (Intermediary Guidelines & Digital Media Ethics) Rules.
Amended rules make it mandatory for intermediaries like @Twitter, @facebook, @YouTube, @Instagram, etc to comply with Constitution of India provisions and India’s sovereign laws. pic.twitter.com/PoF6RU3XMu
With the new amendments, any person aggrieved by a decision of the Grievance Officer related to blocks, suspensions, etc. may prefer to file an appeal to the Grievance Appellate Committee within a period of thirty days from the date of receipt of communication from the Grievance Officer.
The government’s amendments stemmed from users’ complaints about being de-platformed or being removed from a social media site, without companies giving them an adequate avenue of hearing or a satisfactory explanation.
“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 Gazette notification issued by the Centre said.
The amendments mandate social media companies to acknowledge user complaints within twenty-four hours and resolve such them within a period of fifteen days from the date of their receipt. If users deem social media intermediaries’ actions unsatisfactory, they can approach the Grievance Appellate Committees for redressal.
The Grievance Appellate Committee is expected to deal with such appeals in an expeditious manner and seek to resolve the appeal within a span of 30 days from the date of receipt of the appeal.
Each Grievance Appellate Committee shall consist of a chairperson and two whole-time members appointed by the Central Government, of which one shall be a member ex-officio and two shall be independent members.
“The Grievance Appellate Committee shall adopt an online dispute resolution mechanism wherein the entire appeal process, from the filing of an appeal to the decision thereof, shall be conducted through digital mode,” the notification read.
The social media intermediaries are ordained to comply with the order passed by the Grievance Appellate Committee and a report to that effect shall be uploaded on its website.
