87% cases filed with grievance committees under IT Rules resolved: MoS

Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT Jitin Prasada on Wednesday informed the parliament that out of a total of 1,065 cases filed with the Grievance Appellate Committees (GAC) under IT Rules since its inception on March 1, 2023, 937 cases were resolved as of June 2024.

The Minister gave the information in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

The GAC is a virtual platform operating only online and digitally - wherein the entire appeal process, from filing of appeal to the decision, is conducted digitally.

Under the grievance committees, users have the option to appeal against the decision of the grievance officer of the social media intermediaries and other online intermediaries before the appellate body.

Established under the rules (1) and (2) of rule 3A of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, the committee will endeavour to address the user’s appeal within a period of 30 days.

The final decision of the GAC is binding on platforms and refusing to comply with the GAC can cost a platform its safe harbour protections.

“The Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC) is a critical piece of the overall policy and legal framework to ensure that the Internet in India is open, safe, trusted, and accountable. The need for GAC was created due to a large number of grievances being left unaddressed or unsatisfactorily addressed by Internet intermediaries. GAC is expected to create a culture of responsiveness amongst all Internet platforms and intermediaries towards their consumers,” said an official release from the government.

The government, after extensive public consultations with relevant stakeholders, notified the IT rules in 2021, which have been subsequently amended in 2022 and 2023.

The IT Rules, 2021 cast specific legal obligations on intermediaries, including significant social media intermediaries, to ensure their accountability towards a safe and trusted internet.