India to set up grievance appellate committees for social media; Twitter to revise user verification, may charge for it

India will set up multiple grievance appellate committees to oversee content moderation decisions of social media platform providers in the country, as the government looks to reign in content it deems unlawful. At Twitter, which is in a legal battle with the Indian government over orders to take down various accounts and tweets, new owner Elon Musk has plans to form a council to oversee content moderation, CNBC reports. Twitter may also charge a fee for user verification, according to the tech newsletter Platformer. Notes: India will set up multiple grievance appellate committees to oversee content moderation decisions of social media platform providers in the country, as the government looks to reign in content it deems unlawful. This change was inserted into the country’s rules on internet intermediaries that were published in February last year, according to a notification in the government’s official gazette, on Oct. 28. These committees will have the power to overturn the decisions made by grievance officers appointed by the social media platforms. Each committee will comprise a chairperson and two whole-time members appointed by the government. The rules on intermediaries that came into effect last year required the social media platforms to name local nodal contact persons – to be available round the clock – and local grievance officers in India to hear feedback and complaints from users. Individuals will be allowed to file their appeal within 30 days from the date of receipt of communication from the grievance officer. The designated committees will also be required to deal with such appeals expeditiously, within 30 days, according to the government’s notification. “We are doing this very reluctantly and because we have an obligation and duty to the digital citizens that their grievances should be heard by someone,” India’s information technology minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar told reporters in a conference on Oct. 29, Economic Times reports. Meanwhile, at Twitter, one of the biggest social media platforms that sees India as its third largest market by users, new owner Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, is planning to form a “content moderation council,” CNBC reports. Musk – who has previously said he would reinstate former US president Donald Trump’s Twitter account – now says he will not make any “major content decisions” or reinstate any accounts that were previously banned before the council convenes, according to CNBC. Musk, the world’s richest person, bought Twitter last week after months of wrangling. For now, he is short on details about how his content moderation council will work and how much power it will have, according to CNBC. In India, Twitter is fighting a legal battle with the government over orders to take down several accounts and tweets. Twitter will also revise its user verification process, Musk said in a tweet yesterday. "Whole verification process is being revamped right now", Musk said in his tweet. Twitter is considering charging for the coveted blue check mark verifying the identity of its account holder, Reuters reports, citing a technology newsletter, Platformer. Users would have to subscribe to Twitter Blue at $4.99 a month or lose their "verified" badges if the project moves forward. Theme music courtesy Free Music & Sounds: