Global internet giants urge India to let them handle grievances with “expertise”

In 2021, the Indian government published the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, filled with tall asks from social media companies. More than a year on, in its proposed amendments (pdf), it’s angling for a tighter hold on these platforms.

Among other things, the ministry of electronics and information technology (Meity) wants to form a grievance appellate committee (GAC) to oversee grievance redressal officers at social media companies. Most worryingly, it wants to give this committee the veto power to reverse content moderation decisions of social media firms.

US-based lobby groups like India Business Council (USIBC) and US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) have raised concerns internally over such a panel. How could they act independently if the government controls its formation, they ask. Never mind that the idea is neither constitutionally sound nor scalable, it would be an impediment to even daily operations, the biggest tech companies say.

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