NEW DELHI: The Grievance Appellate Committees under the IT Rules, 2021 received 1,065 cases since its inception and disposed of 937 cases, ensuring accountability of intermediaries towards safe and trusted internet, the Parliament was informed on Friday.
Minister of State for Electronic and IT, Jitin Prasada told the Rajya Sabha, in a written reply, about the number of cases filed and disposed of by the Grievance Appellate Committees since its inception from March 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024.
After extensive consultations with key stakeholders, the government notified the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 in February 2021, which cast specific legal obligations on intermediaries, including significant social media intermediaries to ensure their accountability towards safe and trusted internet.
Last month, the government made it clear to social media intermediaries platforms to act on misinformation and deepfakes under the IT Rules, 2021. In case of failure of the intermediaries to observe the legal obligations as provided in the IT Rules, 2021, they lose their safe harbour protection under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act).