Government may set up committees to deal with user complaints against social media platforms: Officials

Officials said the government plans to set up appellate committees to address grievances users may have over the way social media platforms handle their complaints about content and Other problems.

While the tech giant Meta (own Facebook and WhatsApp) and microblogging site Twitter has pushed for a self-regulating complaints appeals framework, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) wants the hearings to be conducted by three-member complaints appellate committees.

The tables will be constituted by amendments to the Information Technology Code (Intermediary Principles and Digital Media Code of Ethics), 2021.

Modifications could provide social media platforms to acknowledge user complaints within 24 hours and resolve them within 15 days.

Complaints can range from child sexual abuse material to nudity to trademark and patent infringement, misinformation, impersonation, and content that threatens integrity and integrity. of the country.

Any person affected by the decision of the social media platforms’ complaint staff may wish to appeal to the appeals committee within 30 days, they said, adding that the amendment could provide for the establishment of one or more such councils to deal with each other social media communication.

In February 2021, the government announced the IT Code (intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics), 2021 for social networks. applicationonline news portal, news aggregator and OTT communication.

However, even after providing a remediation mechanism through the IT Code, in 2021 many user complaints remained unresolved, prompting the government to step in and propose an appellate jurisdiction framework.

Each appeals committee may consist of a chairperson and two full-time members appointed by the central government, one of which shall be a full member and two independent members.

The appeals panel will promptly resolve the appeal and attempt to resolve the appeal within 30 days of receipt of the appeal.

There has been opposition from industry and some stakeholders about the proposal to the appeals committee after the government, in June, released a draft rule around the matter. Currently, “there is no appellate mechanism provided by intermediaries nor any credible self-regulatory mechanism in place,” the IT ministry said at the time.