WhatsApp appoints Paresh B Lal as grievance officer for India

WhatsApp has appointed Paresh B Lal as its grievance officer for India, according to its FAQ section.

In a section titled “How to contact the Grievance Officer and WhatsApp in India,” the messaging platform names Lal, who is based in Hyderabad.

Earlier, sources told new agency PTI that Facebook-owned WhatsApp was updating the details of the new grievance officers appointed, to replace the existing information on its platform.

WhatsApp had not yet responded when contacted by PTI.

Large digital companies like Google have begun updating their websites to reflect the appointment of grievance officers as per the new social media rules, the news agency reported.

Google’s “Contact Us” page shows details of Joe Grier as a contact person with an address from Mountain View, US. The page also contains details on the grievance redressal mechanism for YouTube.

As per the rules, all intermediaries have to prominently publish on their website, app or both, the name of the grievance officer and his/her contact details as well as the mechanism by which a user or a victim may make a complaint.

The grievance officer will have to acknowledge the complaint within 24 hours and dispose of such complaint within a period of 15 days from the date of its receipt, and receive and acknowledge any order, notice or direction issued by the authorities.

The Centre has said the new rules are designed to prevent abuse and misuse of platforms, and offer users a robust forum for grievance redressal.

Non-compliance with the rules would result in these platforms losing their intermediary status that provides them immunity from liabilities over any third-party data hosted by them.

After the new norms came into effect on May 26, the IT ministry had turned up the heat on significant social media companies, asking them to immediately report compliance and provide details of the three key officials appointed. PTI