To comply with the IT Rules, social media intermediaries like Clubhouse need to appoint a grievance officer, apart from publishing transparency reports and a host of other requirements. In compliance with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021, Clubhouse has appointed a new grievance redressal officer for India. Clubhouse has named Alpha Exploration listed under Dan Ashton as its grievance officer, and the address provided is in San Francisco. Clubhouse is an audio-based social networking platform where users communicate in voice chat rooms. It can accommodate up to 5000 users in one chat room. Information about its grievance officer is available on the platform's Knowledge Centre page. As per the new IT Rules, the grievance redressal officer for significant social media intermediaries should be an Indian resident and employee of the platform. Responding to a query by MediaNama, Clubhouse clarified that since it does not meet the threshold of a significant social media intermediary (a social media intermediary with more than 50 lakh registered users in India), it has appointed an employee of Clubhouse who is not currently based in India as a grievance officer specifically for Indian users. The platform also stated that it is still hiring for the same role in India. What do the IT Rules require? The IT Rules require social media intermediaries to: Appoint officers: It’s mandatory for significant social media intermediaries to appoint a chief compliance officer, nodal contact person, and grievance redressal officer to whom the users can file complaints.…
