New Delhi: 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 organization 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.
