India’s government on Friday announced changes to its information technology (IT) rules that will apply to social media companies, a move likely to be seen as reining in big tech firms. Under the amended rules, which will come into force from October 28, a government panel would be set up to hear complaints from users about the content moderation decisions of social media platforms. Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s government has strained relations with many big tech companies, and Delhi is tightening regulation of firms such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
Tensions over social media content decisions are a particularly thorny issue in India, as companies often receive takedown requests from the government or proactively remove content. Social media businesses are already required to have an internal complaints officer and appoint senior staff to coordinate with law enforcement officials. Under the amended rules, companies would be required to acknowledge user complaints within 24 hours and resolve them within 15 days, or 72 hours in the case of a takedown request.
In June, the government released draft amendments to the IT Act that would require companies to “respect the rights granted to citizens under the Constitution of India” and proposed setting up a government panel. The Indian government is concerned that users who are upset by decisions to remove their content do not have a proper system to appeal those decisions, and that their only legal recourse is to go to court. “A number of (technology) intermediaries have acted in violation of the constitutional rights of Indian citizens,” the government said in June, without naming any company or specific rights. The Government Panel will consist of a Chair and two full-time members, two of whom will be independent.
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