Nainital, Jul 30 Meta informed the Uttarakhand High Court on Thursday that it has modified its grievance redressal policy and is now taking immediate action on users’ complaints.
Meta's clarification came during the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) concerning issues such as the creation of fake social media accounts, the circulation of objectionable videos, attempts at online extortion, and the failure of social media platforms to take timely action on complaints.
During the hearing, the counsel representing Meta informed the court that the company had amended its grievance redressal policy and immediate action is now being taken regarding users’ complaints.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and Justice Subhash Upadhyay heard the matter and asked the petitioner to present suggestions regarding the shortcomings in the functioning of social media platforms and ways to rectify them, so that such incidents could be effectively curbed. The court has scheduled the next hearing on the matter in three weeks.
Advocate Alok Kumar had filed this PIL in 2021. The petition alleged that unknown individuals created fake social media profiles in his name, uploaded objectionable videos, and attempted to extort money from him.
The petition stated that despite a complaint being lodged, Facebook did not take immediate action, causing him to face humiliation and embarrassment before his friends and family.
The petition seeks a directive to all social media platforms to ensure prompt action on users’ complaints and to take strict measures against those involved in creating fake accounts and online extortion in order to effectively prevent such incidents.
