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Government sets up a new platform to sort grievances against Social Media Companies

The platform will be operational from March 1.

To handle customer grievances against social media businesses, the government has set up a technological infrastructure as reported by ET.

The platform will automatically sort the grievances sent to the GACs, which are appointed by the government, and escalate any that demand for action to its three subcommittees.

The platform would need participation from significant social media intermediaries (SSMIs), like Google and Facebook, who will then be required to provide their responses to complaints through the portal.

Beginning on March 1, a novel idea called The GACs will be operational.

The platform, which will be unveiled on Tuesday by the Ministry of Electronics and IT, was created by the National Informatics Centre (NIC).

Everything in the process, from filing a complaint to finding a solution, will be fully automated and take place on the portal. On the basis of the recently updated Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Regulations, 2021, the Center announced the creation of three GACs earlier this year.

The goal was to provide users with alternatives to the time-consuming judicial system for grievance relief.

The government claimed that by doing this, "new accountability rules for SSMIs will ensure that Big-tech platforms do not violate the Constitutional rights of Indian residents."

The government said in January that GACs were being established as a result of the significant number of complaints that internet intermediaries were failing to address or handling insufficiently. According to the IT ministry, "The GAC will be a virtual digital platform that will exclusively operate online and digitally — wherein the entire appeal procedure, from filing an appeal to reaching a verdict, shall be performed digitally."

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