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Why in the News?
Recently, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has published a fresh draft of the amendments to the Information Technology Rules, 2021.
Key Points:
What are the IT Rules 2021:
- The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics) Rules was enforced in February 2021
- It brought in additional compliance requirements for significant social media intermediaries (SSMIs) such as the appointment of chief compliance officer, nodal person for coordination and grievance officer
- The IT Rules also brought in a three-tier system for handling grievances pertaining to streaming services and online news business
- At the first level, grievances are handled within the organisation, at the second, a self-regulatory body, and at the third, a government-run committee which can override any decision taken by the other two bodies
What are the proposed amendments to the IT Rules, 2021?
- Creation of government-appointed appeal committees: It proposes the creation of government-appointed appeal committees that will be able to veto content-moderation decisions taken by social media intermediaries like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube
- Grievance Appellate Committees: The Central Government shall constitute one or more Grievance Appellate Committees
- Organizational Structure: It shall consist of a Chairperson and such other Members, as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint
- Change in Grievance redressal mechanism: It has proposed a change in the grievance redressal mechanism, where intermediaries will be required to address grievances regarding content removal from platforms within 72 hours
- For other grievances, the existing 15-day timeframe will continue
What does this signify for the user?
Even after this amendment, the users will have the right to directly approach a court of law against the intermediary’s decision
What was the reason for the amendments?
- Need for Grievance Appellate Committees: To ensure “actual enforcement of requirements in IT Rules, 2021 in letter and spirit”
- The IT Rules, 2021 provide for a robust grievance redressal mechanism
- There have been many instances that grievance officers of intermediaries either do not address the grievances satisfactorily and/or fairly
- The need for an appellate forum has been proposed to protect the rights and interests of users
- Protecting the Constitutional Rights: These would ensure that the Constitutional rights of Indian citizens are not contravened by Big Tech platforms
Concerns raised
The proposal to set up government-appointed committees has triggered concerns about the government overriding social media platforms’ content decisions
