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Tag: Grievance Redressal Board

  • The Board was formed as part of Digital Publisher Content Grievances Council

    Justice Sikri to chair IAMAI’s Grievance Redressal Board

    By Our Staff

     

    The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has announced that former Supreme Court Justice (Retd.) Arjan Kumar Sikri will chair the Grievance Redressal Board (GRB), formed as a part of the Digital Publisher Content Grievances Council (DPCGC). The GRB will address content grievances pertaining to any of the DPCGC member’s video streaming services.

     

    It will function as an independent body and act as the second-tier within the three-tier grievance redressal mechanism as envisioned by the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

     

    Under Justice Sikri’s leadership, the GRB will aim to provide independent adjudication on content grievances escalated to it. The members of the GRB include prominent personalities from the media and entertainment industry, online curated content providers, experts from various fields — including child rights, women rights, and media laws.

     

    The Grievance Redressal Board includes National award-winning actress Suhasini Maniratnam; Madhu Bhojwani, Indian film Producer and Partner at Emmay Entertainment and Motion Pictures; Gopal Jain, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India; and Dr Ranjana Kumari, eminent Civil Society Representative who currently serves as the Director of the Centre for Social Research and as the Chairperson of Women Power Connect. The two members from the Online Curated Content Providers are Amit Grover, Senior Corporate Counsel, Amazon India, and Priyanka Chaudhari, Director-legal, Netflix India.

     

    Recently, IAMAI announced the formation of the Digital Publisher Content Grievances Council as an independent self-regulatory organisation with an aim to provide a grievance redressal platform for Online Curated Content consumers. The DPCGC will empower consumers to make informed viewing choices and promote creative excellence, which are keys to the long-term success of the Indian entertainment industry.

     

    The appointment of GRB members is a crucial step towards setting up an independent grievance redressal mechanism in alignment with IT Rules 2021. The GRB will oversee and ensure the alignment and adherence to the Code of Ethics by the DPCG Council members, provide guidance to member entities on the Code of Ethics and address grievances that have not been resolved by the publisher within the stipulated period.

     

    The DPCGC currently has 14 publishers of online curated content as members, which include Amazon Prime Video, Alt Balaji, Apple, BookMyShow Stream, Eros Now, Firework TV, Hoichoi, Hungama, Lionsgate Play, MX Player, Netflix, Reeldrama, Shemaroo and Ullu.

     

  • With the intent to empower consumers to make informed viewing choices

    IAMAI institutes grievance redressal cell

    By Our Staff

     

    The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has announced the formation of the Digital Publishers Content Grievances Council (DPCGC). Notes a communique: “Over the past two years, IAMAI has worked collectively with its members towards establishing a self-regulatory and grievance redressal framework for Online Curated Content [OCC] Publishers. In light of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, IAMAI is establishing the DPCGC as the Level-II Self-Regulatory Body for publishers of OCC as required under Rule 12, with the intent to empower consumers to make informed viewing choices.”

     

    The DPCGC will have an OCCP Council composed of publishers of OCC as members and an independent Grievance Redressal Board [GRB] — consisting of a chairperson and six members. The GRB will be chaired by a retired Supreme Court/High Court judge and the members would comprise eminent persons from the media and entertainment industry, experts from various fields including child rights, minority rights, and media law.

     

    The GRB will oversee and ensure the alignment and adherence to the Code of Ethics by the OCCP Council members, provide guidance to entities on Code of Ethics, address grievances that have not been resolved by the publisher within 15 days and hear grievances/appeals filed by the complainant(s).

     

    Said Subho Ray, President, Internet and Mobile Association of India: “IAMAI and members of the DPCGC are deeply committed to protecting consumer rights and empowering consumers with the right tools to make informed decisions, as well as have their grievances addressed. The formation of this body is an important step towards consumer choice, as more and more people are viewing content online.”

     

    IAMAI has notified the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting that they are in the process of forming the DPCGC and has also shared a list of publishers who have confirmed to be members of the Council. So far, IAMAI has received confirmation from 10 publishers, including 1.) Alt Balaji 2.) Amazon Prime Video 3.) Arha Media 4.) Firework 5.) Hoichoi 6.) Hungama 7.) Lionsgate Play 8.) MX Player 9.) Netflix and 10) Shemaroo. IAMAI is also awaiting confirmation from several other such digital publishers.