"It is not our priority to sit on top of a Big Tech platform and figure out whether they are doing their job or not,” Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology said at a press briefing held on 7th June, on the fresh amendments proposed to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code), Rules 2021, according to a report by the Economic Times. At the briefing, the MoS clarified that the IT Ministry (MeitY) will be open to the creation of self-regulatory grievance redressal appellate bodies by social media companies in place of the government's proposed Grievance Redressal Committee from the amendment, will expect them to respect fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution. He added that there have been several reports and complaints that the Grievance Officers appointed by platforms, who are designated to deal with user grievances under the Rules, acknowledge grievances and do nothing about them. “If somebody has a better idea or solution that meets the test of ( ensuring) Indian users have accountability (from) platforms, we are open to that idea,” MoS Chandrasekhar also reportedly said at the briefing. Recap: The IT Rules amendments proposed by MeitY On 6th June, MeitY had released the proposed amendments for public consultation which includes clauses like a Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC) to appeal Grievance Officers’ decisions, requirements for intermediaries to respect citizens’ ‘constitutional’ rights, ensuring user compliance with their policies, and more. The institution of a GAC would allow government officers…
