Social companies eye self-regulatory body to tackle content issues

Global Internet corporations – Meta (Facebook), Twitter, and Google are drawing up the structure for a self-regulatory body to handle appeals by social media users in India over content and takedown issues, multiple people aware of the matter told ET. The proactive move by the social media giants comes in the wake of the Centre proposing a Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC) in its draft amendments to the IT Rules, 2021, triggering sustained resistance from the intermediaries.

The latest proposal by the social media intermediaries is likely to be taken for detailed discussions with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology by the end of this week or the next week, the sources said. The self-regulatory framework envisions creation of a panel headed by either a retired chief justice or a judge of the Supreme Court or one of the high courts of the country. Other members will be drawn from the ranks of the industry, independent technology policy experts and one or two members as appointed by the government, they added.