Discora — Grievance Redressal Policy
Statutory Grievance Mechanism under Rule 3(2) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021
Operator Placeholder Notice (Draft Document)
This document contains draft procedural rules for statutory compliance under Indian law. It cannot be published or activated until the platform operator purchases the production domain, provisions an official grievance email address, and formally designates an individual Grievance Officer with an operational physical address in India.
1. Purpose & Scope of Grievance Redressal
In accordance with Rule 3(2) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, Discora establishes this draft Grievance Redressal Policy (subject to operator adoption and formal appointment of the designated officer) to address user complaints regarding:
- Content that violates our Terms of Service or Community Guidelines;
- Content that is illegal, defamatory, obscene, invasive of bodily privacy, or infringing intellectual property;
- Impersonation of an individual or entity;
- Non-consensual sharing of intimate or sexually explicit imagery;
- Content that threatens national security, public order, or the sovereignty and integrity of India;
- Appeals by users whose content or accounts have been suspended, blocked, or removed.
2. Designated Grievance Officer Details
In compliance with Rule 3(2)(a) of the Information Technology Rules, 2021, the contact details of the designated Grievance Officer are as follows:
| Field | Official Statutory Detail |
|---|---|
| Designation / Title | Grievance Officer, Discora Platform |
| Officer Name | [GRIEVANCE OFFICER NAME — OPERATOR TO PROVIDE] |
| Operating Entity | [OPERATING ENTITY NAME / PROPRIETOR — OPERATOR TO PROVIDE] |
| Official Contact Email | [OFFICIAL CONTACT EMAIL (e.g., grievance@discora.com) — OPERATOR TO PROVIDE] |
| Official Postal Address | [PHYSICAL OPERATING ADDRESS IN INDIA — OPERATOR TO PROVIDE] |
| Designated Working Hours | Monday to Friday, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM IST (Excluding Public Holidays) |
3. How to Submit a Grievance
A. Standard In-App Reporting (First Line of Review)
For regular community violations (such as uncivil conduct, ungrounded assertions, or spam), users are encouraged to use the built-in "Report" feature available on every message, claim, question, and evidence item. In-app reports are routed directly to our anonymity-preserving moderation queue.
B. Formal Written Grievance (Statutory Escalation)
If an issue requires formal statutory intervention, intellectual property notice, emergency removal, or an appeal of an administrative action, you must submit a formal written grievance via email to the Grievance Officer at [OFFICIAL CONTACT EMAIL — OPERATOR TO PROVIDE].
To ensure prompt investigation, your formal grievance must include:
- Complainant Information: Your full name, registered Discora username (if applicable), and contact email address.
- Identification of Content: Exact URL(s) to the discussion room, debate, claim, message, or user profile in question.
- Specific Nature of Complaint: A clear statement specifying how the content violates these Terms, Community Guidelines, or Indian law.
- Supporting Documentation: In cases of copyright infringement, proof of ownership or authorization; in cases of impersonation, proof of identity.
- Declaration of Good Faith: A statement that the information provided in the complaint is accurate and true to the best of your knowledge.
4. Statutory Timelines for Acknowledgment and Resolution
In strict adherence to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021:
- Acknowledgment Timeline (Rule 3(2)(a)): Every formal grievance received by the Grievance Officer will be acknowledged within twenty-four (24) hours of receipt, providing the complainant with a unique complaint ticket reference number.
- Standard Disposal Timeline (Rule 3(2)(a)): Every complaint will be investigated, redressed, and formally responded to within fifteen (15) days from the date of its receipt.
- Expedited Removal of Sexually Explicit / Nude Content (Rule 3(2)(b)): Where a grievance relates to content that prima facie exposes the private areas of any person, shows such person in full or partial nudity, depicts any sexual act, or involves impersonation or manipulated imagery (deepfakes) of an individual, Discora will take all reasonable and practicable measures to remove or disable access to such content within twenty-four (24) hours from the receipt of the complaint.
5. Investigation Procedure & User Appeals
- Review by Human Operators: Formal grievances and appeals are evaluated by human administrators. Discora does not use autonomous AI systems to make final grievance determination decisions.
- Right to Fair Hearing (Appeals): If a user's content is removed or their account is suspended, the user may submit an appeal to the Grievance Officer within thirty (30) days of the enforcement action. The user may provide clarifying context or evidence of lawful authority.
- Communication of Decision: The Grievance Officer will communicate the reasoned decision in writing to the complainant and affected user, stating whether the content remains removed, is restored, or if alternative corrective actions were taken.
6. Escalation to the Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC)
In accordance with Rule 3A of the Information Technology Rules, 2021 (as amended), any user who is aggrieved by a decision of the Discora Grievance Officer, or who does not receive a response within the statutory 15-day timeline, has the statutory right to prefer an appeal to the Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC) established by the Central Government of India:
- Appeal Window: Within thirty (30) days from the date of receipt of the decision from Discora’s Grievance Officer.
- Online Portal: Appeals may be submitted electronically through the official GAC portal (
https://gac.gov.in). - Compliance: Discora will comply with any lawful direction or order issued by the Grievance Appellate Committee.
7. Record Keeping, Confidentiality & CERT-In Coordination
- Confidentiality: Details of complainants and grievances are treated with strict confidentiality and shared only with personnel directly involved in resolving the complaint or as required by law enforcement authorities.
- Log Preservation: In compliance with the Cyber Security Directions issued by CERT-In (Direction 20(6)), system logs and audit records relating to verified security violations or unauthorized access will be preserved for a rolling period of 180 days.
- Frivolous or Abusive Grievances: The submission of repeatedly false, malicious, forged, or automated bad-faith grievances designed to harass contributors or suppress legitimate inquiry constitutes a breach of our Terms of Service and may result in account termination.