IT laws amendment
A new draft of the Information Technology Rules, 2021, published by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), proposes the establishment of government-appointed appeal committees that will have the power to veto content-moderation decisions made by social media intermediaries like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
The same plan was included in a draft that the ministry released last week but quickly retracted. However, the new draught, which MeitY floated late on Monday night, is basically the same as the original idea.
What Are The Amendments?
The proposal calls for the establishment of government-appointed appeal committees with the authority to examine and potentially overturn social media companies’ content moderation decisions. In the draft, MeitY said that the “Central Government shall form one or more Grievance Appellate Committees, which shall consist of a Chairperson and such other Members, as the Central Government may, by publication in the Official Gazette, designate.”
In essence, it means that if a user is dissatisfied with a company’s grievance officer’s content moderation judgment, they may appeal that decision to the proposed government-appointed appeals committee. The ministry stated in the proposal that “the concerned intermediary will comply with every order given by the Grievance Appellate Committee.”
In addition to this, the current proposal considers giving grievance officials selected by social media corporations new duties. It states that a grievance officer must swiftly resolve a user’s complaint within 72 hours if it involves content that is “patently untrue,” violates copyright, or endangers India’s integrity. In accordance with current regulations, grievance officials have 15 days to respond to and resolve user complaints.
Key Changes
The following are the main adjustments that the draft amendments propose:
1. Obligations of intermediaries: According to the 2021 Rules, the intermediary must “publish” its rules and policies, privacy statement, and user agreement before allowing anybody to access or use its services. The types of content that users are able to produce, post, or distribute are constrained by the Rules. Intermediaries must “inform” users of these limitations as per the Rules. The goal of the proposed changes is to broaden the responsibilities of intermediaries to include “ensuring compliance” with the user agreement, privacy policy, and guidelines as well as (ii) “causing users to not” produce, post, or share illegal information.
The proposed changes also include the requirement that intermediaries take all necessary steps to guarantee that all users can access their services, with a reasonable expectation of due diligence, privacy, and openness. In addition, intermediaries need to respect each user’s constitutional rights. The Ministry noted that this reform was required because numerous intermediaries had violated citizens’ constitutional rights.
2. Mechanism for contesting grievance officer rulings: Under the 2021 Rules, intermediaries must name a grievance officer to handle complaints about rule infractions. The Ministry noted that there have been occasions in which these officers have failed to fairly or satisfactorily address complaints. A individual who feels wronged by the grievance officer’s decision must go to court to seek justice. Therefore, the proposed modifications offer a substitute procedure for such appeals. The central government will establish a Grievance Appellate Committee to hear appeals against grievance officers’ judgments. The Committee will include a chairperson and other members who will be selected by notification from the central government.
Such appeals must be resolved by the Committee within 30 days of the date of receipt. The involved intermediary is required to abide by the Committee’s decision. Note that the proposed changes do not prevent consumers from contacting courts directly.
3. Rapid deletion of illegal content: Under the 2021 Rules, intermediaries must recognize complaints about rule violations within 24 hours and resolve them within 15 days. The proposed changes include a requirement that complaints about the removal of illegal content be resolved within 72 hours. A tougher deadline will aid in the prompt removal of unlawful content, according to the Ministry, considering the potential for content to go viral online.
Concerns raised by the general public
Concerns about the government dictating what is posted on social media platforms have been raised in response to the idea to create government-appointed committees. Internet Freedom Foundation, a digital rights organization based in Delhi, had responded to the proposal when it was made in the previous draught, saying that it “seeks, without any legislative basis, to subject content on social media to the direct scrutiny of the government by permitting users to appeal decisions of social media platforms to a Grievance Appellate Committee established by MeitY.”
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