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Indian Govt. Forms Grievance Panel for Online Content Moderation

The department of Legal Affairs in India approved the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology's (MeitY) proposal to create government-appointed bodies that will review and regulate content on intermediary services such as YouTube, Twitter, and other social media platforms. MeitY will appoint a Grievance Appellate Committee in the next 90 days.

Anime content licensors such as Ani-One Asia and Muse Asia release simulcasts in India on platforms such as YouTube.

The central government will appoint a three-person Grievance Appellate Committee that will consist of a chairperson and two full-time members. One member of the Committee will be a former government officer, while the other two will be independent members. Users of intermediary platforms will be able to approach the Grievance Appellate Committee instead of the courts with complaints regarding decisions made by an intermediary's grievance officer for content moderation. The Committee will have final say on whether the content is suitable to remain public.

MeitY published a draft proposal on June 2, proposing amendments to the "Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021." It withdrew the proposal soon after, but went ahead with the "Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021" despite lobbying from the media industry and protests from civil society.

MeitY released the "Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021," through its Electronic Gazette in February 2021 detailing the framework for regulating online streaming platforms in India. The document suggests a three-tier system for regulating the content on online streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+ Hotstar as well as for social media and digital news media.

The regulatory framework would necessitate that content on streaming platforms have ratings similar to those assigned by the Central Board of Film Certification such as U (universal) or A (adult). The three-tier framework that would overlook the reinforcement of the guidelines would include: a self-regulatory body as the first tier, a regulatory oversight body as the second tier, and a government body as the third tier.

The "Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021" document cites powers provided to the Indian government under section 87 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, which allows the government to carry out provisions of the law through notifications in the Official Gazette and the Electronic Gazette.

The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) created the Universal Self-Regulation Code for OCCPs (Online Curated Content Providers) in September 2020 as an alternative to government censorship being applied to the content on online streaming services in India. Streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar, Zee5, Viacom18's Voot, ALTBalaji, Eros Now, MX Player, Discovery Plus, Jio Cinema, HoiChoi, Arre, Flickstree, Hungama, and Shemaroo had signed the self-regulation code.

Sources: Economic Times (Aashish Aryan & Surabhi Agarwal), Indian Express (Soumyarendra Barik), Newslaundry (Aditi Agrawal)