Twitter, Google, WhatsApp, Instagram, Netflix, Spotify search for grievance, nodal officers 

As the government tightens the rope around digital media and social media platforms, all the big names including Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, Netflix, Google, Snap, and Spotify are recruiting for the required top roles. Twitter that has been in the eye of the storm with its resistance to fully comply with the rules is also recruiting for three top roles.

Twitter is currently recruiting for a Chief Compliance Officer, a Nodal Officer and a Resident Grievance Officer in India. The prime responsibility of the CCO, according to the social media giant’s post on LinkedIn, is to liaise between “Twitter and government agencies on all kinds of legal requests received from various law enforcement organisations and government agencies”.

The Nodal Officer for Twitter will be required to overlook “established processes to review and respond to legal orders from law enforcement/government agencies in India to comply with removal obligations and information requests in a timely manner”, while the Grievance Officer will be required to recommend “developments to grievance mechanisms for Twitter to receive, acknowledge, and dispose of complaints from members of the public.” Twitter had appointed Dharmendra Chatur as the Grievance Officer but he stepped down less than four weeks from the appointment.

All these roles require mid-to-senior level employees with experiences ranging from minimum 6-15 years. 

Google is recruiting for the role of Grievance Officer, Trust and Safety. The candidate will be “part of the team responsible for proving compliance with existing and emerging content regulations.” The officer must “ensure adherence to relevant internal policies and processes, driving process improvement, including identifying communication and process gaps, and addressing them to optimise user experience.” The candidate must have 5 years of experience in “an equivalent role of advising or handling and responding to user complaints and grievances” and based in India.

Instagram is looking for a Public Policy Manager who will be required to “identify, monitor, and analyse policy issues affecting Instagram in India and identify proactive strategies, and articulate Instagram positions on these policy issues in briefing papers, consultation responses and internal and external policy meetings.” The minimum qualification for this role involves more than 12 years of experience with privacy, data, or technology policy issues.

WhatsApp, one of the most widely used apps in the country, is looking for a Nodal Contact & Grievance Officer. The primary focus of the officer will be to oversee “24/7 coordination with law enforcement agencies while working with internal teams to respond to legal requests.” The applicant will need over “15 years of related experience handling law enforcement matters or similar investigative experience with law enforcement or security agencies, including experience related to cybercrime and online investigations.”

Snap Inc is recruiting for the role of Head of India Public Policy who will “serve as the main day-to-day public policy representative of Snap Inc in India, and establish and deepen existing relationships with relevant government officials, NGOs, trade associations, non-governmental organisations, and other influential stakeholders.” The applicant needs over 7 years of work experience.

Spotify is also looking for a full time Government Affairs Director APAC who will “work in close collaboration with national policymakers on public policy and regulatory issues that impact Spotify”. The applicant needs to have “proven experience of at least 15 years in India working across government affairs and regulatory matters”.

Netflix, on the other hand, is looking for a Counsel for Content Grievances. The applicant will need to “manage workflow for content related grievances, collaborate with several internal stakeholders and rapidly respond to all content grievances received, and manage and collaborate with external legal counsels as and when required.” The candidate must have over eight years of work experience as an in-house lawyer in the Indian media and entertainment industry or as a counsel in a law firm specialising in the area of media and entertainment.

These hiring requirement come due to the IT rules that state that digital platforms need to appoint a Chief Compliance Officer who will be responsible for ensuring compliance with the Act and Rules, a Nodal Contact Person for 24x7 coordination with law enforcement agencies and a Resident Grievance Officer who shall perform the functions mentioned under grievance redressal mechanism. All of these officials must be a resident in India.

Among other rules, the government also said that these intermediaries must establish a grievance redressal mechanism that will ensure that complaints from users or victims are resolved. A Grievance Officer will have to acknowledge the complaint within 24 hours and resolve it within 15 days from receipt.

Also read: 'Comply or face consequences': Govt serves final notice to Twitter over new IT rules
Also read: Twitter failed to comply with new IT rules: Centre tells Delhi HC