Government withdraws draft proposal on social media appellate panels

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has withdrawn the draft proposing changes to the country’s technology and social media regulations, including the creation of one or more grievance appellate committees.

Earlier, on June 1, 2022, the MeitY had proposed the constitution of one or more Grievance Appellate Committees which would give it powers to possibly override any decision taken by grievance officers of intermediaries including blocking or removal of any user or user account on social media platforms.

However, the official draft has now been withdrawn. Meanwhile, the officials in MeitY, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said a revised set of rules would be uploaded shortly. In the draft amendment made public, the ministry mentioned that any person who has been aggrieved by the order made by the Grievance Officer may prefer an appeal to the Grievance Appellate Committee having jurisdiction in the matter within a period of 30 days of receipt of communication from grievance officer.

In the footnotes of the draft, MeitY explained that the Grievance Appellate Committee will be set up to provide an alternative to a user to file an appeal against the decision of the Grievance Officer rather than directly going to the court of law. The release by MeitY further noted that the committees will consist of a chairperson and other members who will be appointed through a notification in the official Gazette.

Besides, the draft added that the committee will have to dispose the appeal raised within 30 calendar days from the date of the receipt of the appeal. Meanwhile, the draft read that every order passed by the Grievance Appellate Committee shall be complied with by the concerned intermediary.

Apart from that, the proposed amendments state the grievance officers of companies will have to redress user complaints within 72 hours of reporting. Currently, IT Rules 2021 state that grievance officers have to acknowledge complaints within 24 hours and dispose it off within 15 days. The 72 hour-response time-frame is currently just reserved for intermediaries in assisting government agencies for investigation, cybersecurity activities and so on.