Delhi High Court Directs LinkedIn to Provide Details of Grievance Officers and Complaint Procedure
The Delhi High Court has requested LinkedIn, the popular social media platform, to disclose the details of its grievance officers and the procedure they follow when handling complaints under the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules. Justice Prathiba M Singh also directed LinkedIn to make the rules applicable to individuals creating profiles on their portal publicly available on their website, including the physical and email addresses of their grievance officers.
The court’s directions came as a result of a lawsuit filed by Tata Sky Limited against LinkedIn and other parties. Tata Sky, a leading direct-to-home (DTH) and pay TV platform in India, alleged that numerous individuals had created profiles on LinkedIn falsely claiming to be its employees. The lawsuit further stated that these individuals were unlawfully using the name ‘TATA SKY’ in their profile descriptions without any authorization, license, or permission, thus misleading the public into believing they were associated with Tata Sky.
While the court acknowledged that the prosecutor had taken action by approaching the grievance officer, it emphasized the importance of having a robust framework in place to tackle the proliferation of fake profiles. Hence, LinkedIn was asked to disclose the details of its grievance officers and the standard operating procedure (SOP) followed when handling grievances as per the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. The court also mandated that LinkedIn publish the physical and email addresses of its grievance officers openly on its website for public access.
The court’s ruling aims to establish transparency and accountability in addressing complaints filed on LinkedIn. By making the details of its grievance officers and complaint procedure readily available, LinkedIn can effectively tackle issues related to fake profiles and unauthorized use of trademarks. This move aligns with the IT rules laid down by the Indian government, which require social media platforms to establish a strong mechanism for handling user complaints.
LinkedIn, as a responsible intermediary, is expected to comply with the court’s directions and provide the necessary information for the benefit of its users and the general public. The disclosure of grievance officer details and the procedure followed will not only support Tata Sky’s case but also set a precedent for other social media platforms in upholding user trust and maintaining a safe and authentic online environment.
As the case unfolds, it will be interesting to see how LinkedIn responds to the court’s directive and how these measures impact the prevalence of fake profiles and unauthorized use of trademarks on their platform.
