Decoded: How the GACs will respond to grievances of online users

Users can now approach government-appointed grievance appellate committees (GACs) with complaints against online platforms including social media companies such as Facebook, Twitter and Snap, courtesy of a new portal activated by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). Business Standard explains how the committees will function:

What is the need for the GACs?

According to data shared by the Press Information Bureau, India had around 530 million WhatsApp users, 410 million Facebook users, 448 million users of YouTube, and 210 million Instagram users in 2021. The huge chunk of content produced daily on these platforms require active moderation to remove inappropriate posts such as those related to bullying, harassment, hate speech, obscenity, child sexual abuse, violence incitement and copyright infringement.

The platforms moderate content based on their community guidelines and the country’s laws. However, disputes arise in several instances, as users may disagree with the decisions taken by the platforms. Before the formation of GACs, users aggrieved by such decisions could appeal only in court. The GACs were primarily designed to create avenues for redress of user grievances against online platforms, other than by courts.

How were they brought to the table?

According to the government, social media and other online platforms must be made accountable to the laws of the land. Thus, Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules, 2021) were enacted to prescribe the due diligence to be followed by internet intermediaries.

Intermediaries include telecom service providers, internet service providers, web-hosting service providers, search engines, online payment sites, online marketplaces and social media sites. The rules also require the significant social media intermediaries — platforms with more than 5 million users — to appoint a resident grievance officer to decide on content-related complaints.

In June 2022, the MeitY proposed amendments to the rules that allowed the formation of GACs. The government-appointed panels can override the decisions of grievance officers in cases of violation of the rules. The ministry had said that there was a need to set up such committees, as it had observed many instances where grievance officers of intermediaries did not address complaints satisfactorily. After five months of consultations with stakeholders, the amended rules were notified to the official gazette.

What is the composition of the GACs?

Each committee consists 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. Currently, there are three GACs. Rajesh Kumar, chief executive officer of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), Ministry of Home Affairs; Vikram Sahay, joint secretary in charge of the policy and administration division in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting; and Kavita Bhatia, Scientist G, and joint secretary rank officer in the MeitY, will head the committees as chairperson ex officio.

How can users file complaints?

Users must appeal to the GAC within 30 days of receiving a communication from a grievance officer in case of a dispute. The entire appeal process, from the filing of an appeal to the decision of the panel, will be conducted digitally. The panels will endeavour to address the user’s appeal within 30 days. Periodic reviews of GACs and reporting and disclosures of GAC orders will also be part of the process.

The appeals can be made on www.gac.gov.in, which has been activated from Tuesday. The site is designed, developed and hosted by the National Informatics Centre. The appellant can track the status of the appeal through the Appellant Login window on the portal. The GAC will upload its order on the portal, and the appellant will receive a notification by SMS and email. The appellant may view the order through the Appellant Login window on the platform.