MeitY moots committee to override decisions of social media platforms regarding user, account suspensions

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has 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.

This and other provisions are part of the draft of amendments to the IT Rules 2021. On June 1, the ministry uploaded the draft on its website and sought public comments on the matter. By June 2 afternoon, ministry had removed the draft from its website.

In the draft amendment, the ministry say 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.

"Hence, the user can appeal to the said Committee in case of his dissatisfaction with the order of the Grievance Officer and seek an alternative redressal mechanism. However, the user has the right to seek judicial remedy at any time," it added.

The MeitY further said committees will consist of a chairperson and other members who will be appointed through a notification in the Official Gazette.

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. "Every order passed by the Grievance Appellate Committee shall be complied with by the concerned intermediary," the draft read.

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.