IT rules amended; new Grievance Appellate Committee for social media complaints

On Friday (October 29, 2022), the Centre amended the Information Technology or IT Rules to allow for the establishment of grievance appellate panels, which would deal with complaints that users have against the way social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram initially handled their complaints.

The notification stated, “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.”

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.

Any person aggrieved by a decision of the Grievance Officer may prefer 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 Grievance Appellate Committee shall deal with such appeal expeditiously and shall make an endeavour to resolve the appeal finally within thirty calendar days from the date of receipt of the appeal.

The Grievance Appellate Committee shall adopt an online dispute resolution mechanism, wherein the entire appeal process, from filing of appeal to the decision thereof, shall be conducted through digital mode.