MeitY gets legal dept approval for govt-backed GACs in IT rules

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is set to retain the provision creating government-appointed grievance appellate committees (GACs) in the amended information technology (IT) rules, which are likely to be released by the end of this month. 

The government has received the department of legal affairs' approval for the final version, according to a source.

Big tech companies had expressed reservations over the GACs, which are platforms where social media users can appeal against decisions taken by grievance officers of social media companies. At present, users can appeal against these decisions only in courts.

The final version of the rules – now called IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2022 — says the government shall establish one or more GAC within three months of the rules coming into force, according to the source.

The ministry has also provided more clarity on the structure of the committees. Each body would consist of a chairperson and two whole-time members appointed by the government, one of whom will be an ex-officio member and two will be independent.

According to the final version, the sources said, users have to appeal to the GAC within 30 days of receiving a communication from a grievance officer in case of a dispute. 

The entire process, from the filing of an appeal to taking a decision, will be concluded online.

Social media platforms will also have to prominently publish their rules, regulations, privacy policy, and user agreement in English or any of the 22 official languages listed in the eighth schedule of the Constitution, as per the choice of the user, the source added.

It further says the intermediaries should make “reasonable efforts” to deter users from sharing content that is obscene, pornographic, paedophilic, invasive of another’s privacy, etc.

The IT rules require significant social media intermediaries (SSMIs) — platforms with more than 5 million users — to appoint a resident grievance officer to decide on content-related complaints. In June, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) proposed a GAC that could override the decisions of grievance officers.

The ministry had stated that there was a need for a GAC as it had observed many instances where grievance officers of intermediaries had not addressed grievances satisfactorily.

EYE ON CHANGE

• Contentious provisions in part 2 of the rules remain largely unchanged
• Multiple grievance appellate committees to be formed, which will resolve the disputes on an online platform
• GAC to have a chairperson and two whole-time members appointed by the government
• Users should appeal to the GAC within 30 days from the receipt of decision by grievance officer
• Social media platforms must provide rules, regulations and user agreement in any of the languages in the eighth schedule chosen by the user

Several big social media outfits had opposed the GACs and other provisions in part 2 of the rules, expressing concerns over a possible compliance burden. However, the government had earlier suggested that the industry come up with a self-regulatory organisation.

Sources familiar with the matter said the amendments were approved after deliberations between the department of legal affairs and MeitY on the question of introducing GACs under the rules.

“The department of legal affairs sent back the rules to the ministry suggesting corrections in the format of the rules and the writing of the document. It also expressed concerns about the provision of GACs. It further said there was a risk of this being challenged in a court of law,” the source.

“The final version of the rules is now being translated into Hindi for the Gazette, which should be completed in a day or two,” the official added.