U.S. lobby groups cast doubts over independence of India content appeal
panel
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[July 20, 2022] By
Aditya Kalra and Munsif Vengattil
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - U.S. lobby groups
representing Facebook and Twitter are concerned India's plan to form a
government panel to hear appeals against content moderation decisions
could lack independence, documents seen by Reuters show.
The proposed policy change is the latest flashpoint between India and
technology giants which have for years said stricter regulations are
hurting their business and investment plans.
It also comes as India clashes with Twitter in a high-profile spat,
which recently saw the social media firm sue the government in a local
court to revoke some content removal orders.
The June proposal mandates social media companies must comply with a
newly formed government panel which will decide on user complaints
against content moderation decisions. The government has not specified
who would be on the panel.
But the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC), part of the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce, and U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), have both
raised concerns internally, saying the plan raises worries about how
such a panel could act independently if the government controls its
formation.
The rules will create a Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC) "which is
entirely controlled by the (IT) Ministry, and lacks any checks or
balances to ensure independence," USIBC stated in an internal July 8
letter addressed to India's IT ministry.
"In the absence of industry and civil society representation, such GACs
may result in over regulation from the government."
The new Indian proposal was open for public consultation until early
July and no fixed date for implementation has been set.
Underscoring its concerns, USIBC noted that other countries like the
European Union guarantee principles of "fairness and impartiality" in
its appeal process, while a government-funded think tank in Canada
recommends an "impartial dispute resolution" by a "disinterested
professional body".
The other group, USISPF too expressed concern internally in one document
dated July 6, questioning "how will its (panel's) independence be
ensured."
Together, USIBC and USISPF represent top technology companies such as
Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet Inc's Google - companies that often
receive government takedown requests or carry out content review
proactively.
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3D printed Facebook and Twitter logos are placed on a computer
motherboard in this illustration taken January 21, 2021.
REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
USIBC, Facebook and Google did not respond to requests for comment, while USISPF
and Twitter declined comment. India's IT ministry did not respond.
A senior Indian official told Reuters on Wednesday the government was open to
not having an appeals panel if companies come together and form their own
"fairly neutral" self regulatory system of addressing user problems.
"If they don't do it, government will have to. The panel is expected to operate
independently," said the official.
Tension flared between India and Twitter last year when the company declined to
comply fully with orders to take down accounts the government said were
spreading misinformation. Twitter has also faced backlash for blocking accounts
of influential Indians, including politicians, citing violation of its policies.
Other U.S. tech companies such as Mastercard, Visa, Amazon and Walmart's
Flipkart have had a host of issues with Indian policies on data storage,
stricter compliance requirements as well as some foreign investment rules many
executives say are protectionist in nature.[L3N2O618P]
The Indian government has said it was forced to announce the new rules in a bid
to set "new accountability standards" for social media giants.
Without specifying which rights, the proposals also call for companies to
"respect the rights guaranteed to users under the Constitution of India" as
companies had "acted in violation" of such rights.
Both USIBC and USISPF note in their documents they believe fundamental rights in
India can't be enforced this way.
"The fundamental rights are not enforceable against private companies ... The
rule appears to be broad, and will be difficult to demonstrate compliance,"
USIBC said.
(Reporting by Aditya Kalra and Munsif Vengattil in New Delhi; Editing by Shri
Navaratnam)
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