Govt portal to report unresolved social media complaints goes live

“It is an extension of our government’s views, policies and vision about creating easier ways of resolving disputes – whether it’s about taxation or the grievance redressal of DigitalNagriks,” Minister of State for IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said.

Anyone aggrieved by a decision of the grievance officer will be allowed to file an appeal to the GAC within a period of thirty days. The GAC will have to deal with the appeal and resolve it within a month of the receipt of the appeal. To raise complaints on the portal, users will need to submit their Aadhaar details for a one-time verification of their identity.

The first panel, which will look into complaints related to national security, will be chaired by the chief executive officer of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Ashutosh Shukla and Punjab National Bank’s (PNB) former chief general manager and chief information officer Sunil Soni have been appointed as the whole-time members of this committee.

The second panel will focus on complaints related to fake news and misinformation, will be chaired by the joint secretary in charge of the Policy and Administration Division in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Indian Navy’s retired Commodore Sunil Kumar Gupta and Kavindra Sharma, the former vice-president (consulting) of L&T Infotech, have been appointed as the whole-time members.

The third panel will be chaired by Kavita Bhatia, a senior scientist at the Ministry of Electronics and IT. Former traffic service officer of the Indian Railways Sanjay Goel and former managing director and chief executive officer of IDBI Intech Krishnagiri Ragothamarao have been appointed as the whole-time members of the third panel. This panel will be responsible for handling complaints that do not fall under the ambit of the other two committees.

GACs can also seek assistance from people who may have adequate expertise and experience in a subject matter while dealing with users’ appeals. The GACs will adopt an “online dispute resolution mechanism” where the entire appeal process, from its filing to the final decision, will be done online. Social media companies will also have to compile every order passed by the GACs and report them on their respective websites.

The initial proposal had stemmed from users’ complaints about being de-platformed, or being removed from a social media site, without companies giving them an adequate avenue. of hearing.