IT Regulations: A Social Media appellate panel will include independent experts

The appellate committee to be formed to address grievances of social media users under the most recent amendments to the Information Technology (IT) Rules, 2021 will be largely comprised of independent experts.

According to The Economic Times, citing a senior official, the government’s representation in the panel would be limited to one or two members. The official also stated that ‘no executives from social media intermediaries or internet companies’ will be appointed to the appellate body’s board. The official stated that the move will ensure the committee’s ‘independent functioning,’ and that the forum will aim to provide users with a primary option to ‘appeal against the grievance redressal process of social media companies’ before approaching any court.