Government to set up user Grievance Redressal Committees against Social Media Platforms

The social networking platform Meta (previously Facebook) wants to set up a self-regulated grievance appellate framework. The Indian government is now ready to form Appellate Committees for user grievance redressal against social media apps and OTT platforms. The committee will address issues relating to child abuse to nudity, and the panel will deal expeditiously with such appeals.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology stated that three members must do the adjudications by appellate grievance committees. MeitY may make amendments to social media apps to acknowledge user complaints within 24 hours and resolve them within 15 days. The complaints registered would range from child sexual abuse to nudity, trademark, patent infringements, impersonation of another person, misinformation, and content threatening the unity and integrity of India.

A person unsatisfied with the grievance officer’s decision on any social media platform may appeal to the appellate committee within 30 days. In addition, the government plans to set up different panels to address issues of other social media platforms. However, after the government released the draft rules in June, there has been pushback from industry and stakeholders on the proposal for the appellate grievance. The IT Ministry said, “Currently, there is no appellate mechanism provided by any intermediary, nor is there any credible self-regulatory mechanism in place.”

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