Facebook names a law firm as its correspondence address of its India grievance officer

India is the most important market for global digital platforms. As per the data, India has 53 crore WhatsApp users, 41 crore Facebook subscribers, 21 crore Instagram clients, while 1.75 crore account holders are on microblogging platform Twitter.

India’s new IT rules require that social media platforms “prominently publish” the name and contact details of an India-based grievance officer. However, the correspondence address given by social media juggernaut Facebook for its grievance officer is actually that of a law firm.

Facebook names Spoorthi Priya as its India grievance officer along with the address: 216 Okhla Industrial Estate, Phase III, New Delhi – 110020. The address is of renowned law firm Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas’s Delhi office.

Facebook declined to comment on why it mentions a law firm’s address for its grievance officer. The company also wouldn’t say if its grievance officer, Spoorthi Priya, is a Facebook employee, which is something that the rules require.

In Twitter’s case, it mentions Dharmendra Chatur as its interim grievance officer on its website who incidentally is also a partner designate at law firm Poovayya & Co. The address given by Twitter is also Poovayya & Co.’s Bengaluru address.

Facebook-owned WhatsApp had recently named Paresh B. Lal as its grievance officer for India on its website. Facebook also announced major changes in its content moderation policies that could escalate its confrontation with governments.