To appeal a social media platform's decision in India, file an appeal with a Grievance Appellate Committee at gac.gov.in within 30 days of the Grievance Officer's reply, or within 30 days of the platform failing to reply. Filing is free, the entire process is digital, and the GAC endeavours to decide within 30 calendar days.
Who can appeal to the Grievance Appellate Committee
The Grievance Appellate Committees are constituted by the Central Government under Rule 3A of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules, 2021), inserted by the amendment notified on 28 October 2022. The portal became operational on 1 March 2023.
You can appeal if you are:
- A user whose complaint about someone else's content was rejected or inadequately handled by the platform's Grievance Officer
- A user whose own content was removed, restricted, demonetised or labelled and who disputes that action
- A user whose account was suspended, restricted or terminated
- A user who received no response at all from the Grievance Officer within the period Rule 3(2) allows
- A user dissatisfied with the substance of the Grievance Officer's decision, even where the platform replied on time
You cannot use the GAC to: claim monetary damages, prosecute an offence, or bypass the platform's grievance mechanism entirely. The GAC is an appellate body — the first-instance complaint to the Grievance Officer is a precondition.
Documents you will need
Mandatory
- Your original complaint to the platform — Screenshot or copy of the complaint as submitted, with the date
- The platform's ticket or reference number — Issued on acknowledgement under Rule 3(2)
- The Grievance Officer's decision — Email or in-app communication, with the date of receipt (this fixes your 30-day clock)
- The URL or identifier of the content or account — Post link, profile URL, handle, or account ID
- Dated screenshots — Of the content, the action taken, and any in-app notification
- Your identity and contact details — As registered on the platform, for the portal registration
Additional (if applicable)
- Proof of non-response — Where the Grievance Officer never replied, evidence of the complaint date and the absence of any reply
- Supporting material — Context showing why the content is or is not violative: original authorship proof, satire or news context, prior correspondence
- Authorisation — Where an appeal is filed on behalf of a company or another person
Understanding the two-tier structure
| Tier | Who | What the rules require | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | The intermediary's Grievance Officer, appointed under Rule 3(2) | Acknowledge the complaint and dispose of it | 24 hours to acknowledge; 15 days to dispose |
| Tier 1 (expedited) | Same officer, for specified content categories under Rule 3(2)(b) | Take reasonable and practicable measures to remove or disable access | 72 hours |
| Tier 2 | The Grievance Appellate Committee under Rule 3A | Decide the appeal; the intermediary must comply and report compliance | File within 30 days; GAC endeavours to resolve within 30 calendar days |
Significant social media intermediaries — those with registered users in India above the threshold notified on 25 February 2021 — carry heavier obligations under Rule 4(1): a Chief Compliance Officer, a nodal contact person for round-the-clock coordination with law enforcement, and a Resident Grievance Officer, all resident in India.
Step-by-step process
Step 1: Complain to the platform's Grievance Officer and preserve the record
File the first complaint through the platform's in-app reporting flow or directly to the Grievance Officer whose name, email address and contact details every intermediary must publish on its website or app under Rule 3(2).
Where: The platform's help centre, grievance page, or the published Grievance Officer email Fee: Nil
Tip: Screenshot everything at the moment of filing — the content, the complaint form as submitted, and the acknowledgement with its ticket number. Platforms frequently remove or alter content while a complaint is pending, and your appeal will be far weaker without a dated record of what you saw.
Step 2: Diarise the two clocks
Note two dates the moment you file:
- The Rule 3(2) response deadline — 24 hours for acknowledgement and 15 days for disposal, or 72 hours for the specified content categories.
- Your 30-day appeal window — which starts on the date you receive the Grievance Officer's communication, or on expiry of the response period where nothing arrives.
Where: Your own calendar Fee: Nil
Tip: Set the reminder at day 20, not day 29. The GAC portal is an online system and technical problems on the last day are your risk, not the Committee's.
Step 3: Register on the GAC portal
Create a user account at gac.gov.in. The Committees function as an online dispute resolution mechanism, and the portal confirms that the entire appeal process, from filing to decision, is in digital mode.
Where: https://www.gac.gov.in/ Fee: Nil
Tip: Register with the same email address you used to complain to the platform. Matching identifiers reduces the chance of a mismatch query that costs you days inside a 30-day window.
Step 4: File the appeal
Complete the online appeal form. State, in this order:
- The platform and the content or account identifier (URL, handle, post ID)
- What you asked the Grievance Officer to do, with the complaint date and ticket number
- What the Grievance Officer decided, with the date you received it
- Why that decision is wrong — the specific ground, not general dissatisfaction
- The relief you want — restoration of your account, removal of the content, reversal of a label or restriction
Where: gac.gov.in Form: The online appeal form on the portal Fee: Nil
Tip: Anchor the ground of appeal in the platform's own published policy or in the IT Rules, 2021 obligations, and quote the specific line. "The platform got it wrong" is not a ground; "the post was a news report, and the policy the platform cited expressly carves out news reporting" is.
Step 5: Upload evidence and track the appeal
Attach the screenshots, the complaint, the Grievance Officer's reply, and any supporting material. Then monitor the appeal status through the portal's tracking feature.
Where: gac.gov.in appeal dashboard Fee: Nil
Tip: Name each file for what it proves —
01-original-post-dated-12-June.png,02-grievance-officer-reply-25-June.pdf. A Committee reviewing thousands of appeals will read a clearly labelled bundle more carefully than an unlabelled one.
Step 6: Receive the decision and confirm compliance
The Committee deals with the appeal expeditiously and endeavours to resolve it finally within 30 calendar days from the date of receipt. Every order passed by the GAC must be complied with by the intermediary, which must also upload a report of that compliance on its website.
Where: Delivered digitally through the portal Fee: Nil
Tip: If the platform does not implement the order, take a screenshot of the continuing non-compliance and of the absence of the compliance report on the platform's website, then escalate — first back through the portal, and if necessary through the other remedies below.
Fees and costs
| Item | Amount | Payment method |
|---|---|---|
| Complaint to the platform's Grievance Officer | Nil | Not applicable |
| GAC appeal filing | Nil | Not applicable |
| Advocate (entirely optional) | Commercial rates | Direct to advocate |
| Notarisation | Not required | Not applicable |
| Total statutory cost | Nil |
This is one of the few Indian dispute-resolution routes with zero statutory cost at both tiers. Compare a civil suit for injunction, where court fees, advocate's fees and years of listing are all in prospect.
How long does it take
| Stage | Prescribed timeline | Realistic timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Grievance Officer acknowledgement | 24 hours (Rule 3(2)) | 1-3 days |
| Grievance Officer disposal | 15 days (Rule 3(2)); 72 hours for specified categories | 3-15 days |
| Window to file a GAC appeal | 30 days from receipt or from expiry of the response period | File by day 20 |
| GAC decision | Endeavour to resolve within 30 calendar days of receipt | 30-90 days, depending on pendency |
| Platform compliance and compliance report | On the GAC's order | Days after the order |
Reality check: The Committees carry a substantial caseload — the portal's own published counters have shown appeals received running into the tens of thousands against a much smaller number disposed. Plan for the statutory 30 days as an aspiration rather than a guarantee, and do not let a limitation period in any parallel legal remedy lapse while you wait.
Can you do this online?
Yes — only online. The GAC is expressly designed as an online dispute resolution mechanism, and the portal confirms that the entire appeal process, from filing through to decision, is conducted in digital mode. There is no physical filing counter, no paper form and no requirement to appear.
The first tier is equally digital: complaints to the Grievance Officer go through the platform's in-app flow or the published email address.
What if things go wrong
Problem: The platform never replied, so you have no decision to appeal
Solution: Non-response is itself appealable. Rule 3A allows an appeal where the user receives no response from the Grievance Officer within the period Rule 3(2) allows. File on the expiry of that period, attaching proof of the complaint date and the absence of any reply, and say expressly that the appeal is against the failure to respond.
Problem: You missed the 30-day window
Solution: File as soon as possible and explain the delay with supporting material — hospitalisation, absence of notice, or a platform communication that reached a spam folder. Also consider the parallel remedies, which have their own limitation periods: a civil suit for injunction, a criminal complaint at cybercrime.gov.in where an offence is disclosed, or a complaint to the National Consumer Helpline where the service was paid for.
Problem: You cannot find the platform's Grievance Officer
Solution: Rule 3(2) requires every intermediary to publish the Grievance Officer's name and contact details on its website or app, and Rule 4(1) requires a significant social media intermediary to appoint a Resident Grievance Officer in India. Check the platform's terms of service, help centre, transparency report and privacy policy pages. If no Indian Grievance Officer is published at all, record that fact — it is itself a compliance failure and useful context for your appeal.
Problem: The GAC decides against you
Solution: Rule 3A preserves your right to any other remedy available in law. Depending on the facts, options include a civil suit for defamation or injunction, a writ petition where a State actor or a fundamental-rights question is engaged, a complaint under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 for a paid service, or a criminal complaint where an offence under the Information Technology Act, 2000 or the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) — which replaced the Indian Penal Code, 1860 — is disclosed.
Problem: The platform ignores the GAC's order
Solution: Document the non-compliance and the absence of the required compliance report on the platform's website. Rule 3A obliges the intermediary to comply and to upload a compliance report. Escalate through the portal, and note that persistent non-compliance with the IT Rules, 2021 bears on the intermediary's safe-harbour position under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Problem: Your appeal concerns personal data rather than content
Solution: Use the data-protection route instead. Rights of access, correction, erasure and grievance redressal against a Data Fiduciary arise under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, with escalation to the Data Protection Board of India — a separate forum from the GAC.
Frequently asked questions
What is the deadline to appeal to the Grievance Appellate Committee?
Thirty days. Under Rule 3A of the IT Rules, 2021, the appeal must be filed within 30 days of receipt of the communication from the intermediary's Grievance Officer. Where the platform gave no response at all, the 30 days run from expiry of the period within which the Grievance Officer was required to respond under Rule 3(2).
Does it cost anything to file a GAC appeal?
No. There is no fee at either tier — neither for the complaint to the Grievance Officer nor for the appeal to the Committee. No advocate is required; the portal at gac.gov.in is built for users to file and track appeals themselves.
What kinds of decisions can I appeal to the GAC?
Any decision of an intermediary's Grievance Officer on a user complaint. In practice this covers refusal to remove content you reported, removal or restriction of your own content, labelling or demonetisation, and suspension or termination of your account. Failure of the Grievance Officer to respond within the Rule 3(2) period is equally appealable.
Is the GAC's order binding on the platform?
Yes. Rule 3A requires every order passed by the Committee to be complied with by the intermediary, which must also upload a report of that compliance on its website. The GAC is an executive appellate mechanism rather than a court, so it directs the platform to act — it does not award damages or compensation.
Do I have to complain to the platform first?
Yes. The GAC is appellate, so the first-instance complaint to the Grievance Officer under Rule 3(2) is a precondition. That officer must acknowledge within 24 hours and dispose of the complaint within 15 days, with a shorter 72-hour window for the specified categories under Rule 3(2)(b). Preserve the ticket number and the reply — both are required to file the appeal.
Can I go to court instead of, or after, the GAC?
Yes. Rule 3A expressly preserves the user's right to seek any other remedy available in law. The GAC does not displace a civil suit, a writ petition, a consumer complaint for a paid service, or a criminal complaint at cybercrime.gov.in. Most users try the GAC first because it is free, digital and comparatively fast, and litigate only if the outcome is unsatisfactory.
Based on: Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, Rules 3(2), 3A and 4(1), as amended by the notification dated 28 October 2022; Information Technology Act, 2000, Section 79; Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023; Grievance Appellate Committee; MeitY; National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal; India Code. As of July 2026.