The Executive Yuan yesterday introduced amendments aimed at curbing the spread of disinformation, which proposed punishments for people who disrupt social order or threaten another person’s safety through false information.
A draft addendum to the Radio and Television Act (廣播電視法) says that news outlets and radio stations should establish self-discipline measures to ensure content accuracy.
TV stations found to have broken this rule would be fined between NT$200,000 and NT$1 million (US$6,483 and US$32,415), while radio stations would be fined between NT$9,000 and NT$90,000.
Photo: CNA
Those who contravene the rule could be subject to repeated fining until improvements are made, the addendum says.
An amendment to the Disaster Prevention and Protection Act (災害防救法) recommends fining people who report or spread false information about disasters.
According to the draft amendment, those who knowingly report incorrect information about disasters to authorities would be subject to a fine of between NT$300,000 and NT$500,000.
Those who inflict any harm on another person or cause someone else to incur losses a result of spreading such false information would face a prison term of up to three years or a fine of up to NT$1 million, it says.
If someone is grievously harmed as a result of such disinformation, the guilty person would face a prison term of three to 10 years.
In the extreme case that false information results in deaths, those responsible for spreading the disinformation could face life imprisonment, the draft says.
A proposed amendment to the Food Management Act (糧食管理法) seeks to introduce fines of between NT$60,000 and NT$300,000 for people who spread disinformation about food prices or government plans to reduce excess food.
A draft amendment to the Communicable Disease Control Act (傳染病防治法) seeks to raise the fine from NT$500,000 to NT$1 million for spreading any type of disinformation about communicable diseases that causes harm or losses to another person or the public.
Those who disseminate disinformation about food safety, causing harm or losses to the public or another person, would face a prison term of up to three years or a maximum fine of NT$1 million, a proposed amendment to the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法) says.
A proposed addendum to the Nuclear Emergency Response Act (核子事故緊急應變法) says that those who spread disinformation about nuclear accidents that causes harm or losses would face a prison term of up to three years or a fine of up to NT$1 million.
If the action causes grievous bodily harm to another person, the culprit could face a prison term of three to 10 years, while disinformation that leads to deaths could incur a jail term of seven years to life.
A proposed addendum to a digital communications bill that reportedly seeks to require digital communications operators to remove disinformation within 24 hours or face a fine, was not on yesterday’s agenda.
The bill on Wednesday drew fire from the Asia Internet Coalition, which was formed by social media companies and online service providers, including Facebook, Google, Line and LinkedIn.
In an open letter to Premier William Lai (賴清德), the coalition expressed “grave concerns” over the bill, which was delivered to the Legislative Yuan for review in November last year.
It asked that the Executive Yuan withdraw the bill for revisions, even though it does not include any provision mandating that communications service providers pull any disinformation within a prescribed period.
The nation has been threatened by a host of fake news this year, Lai said during a weekly Cabinet-level meeting, citing fake reports in September about China’s consulate in Osaka sending shuttle buses to pick up Taiwanese tourists at Kansai International Airport during Typhoon Jebi, which led to the suicide of Su Chii-cherng (蘇啟誠), director-general of the Osaka branch of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office.
Lai also cited a photograph from 11 years ago of a pile of discarded bananas, which sparked public outrage at rising fruit prices after it began circulating in June.
Freedom of speech forms the bedrock of Taiwan’s democracy, but the Internet and social media have exacerbated the spread of disinformation, he said.
The issue is unavoidable for all nations that guarantee freedom of speech, he said, adding that several nations have endeavored to tackle the issue through legislation.
CIVIL DEFENSE: More reservists in alternative service would help establish a sound civil defense system for use in wartime and during natural disasters, Kuma Academy’s CEO said While a total of 120,000 reservists are expected to be called up for alternative reserve drills this year, compared with the 6,505 drilled last year, the number has been revised to 58,000 due to a postponed training date, Deputy Minster of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said. In principle, the ministry still aims to call up 120,000 reservists for alternative reserve drills next year, he said, but the actual number would not be decided later until after this year’s evaluation. The increase follows a Legislative Yuan request that the Ministry of the Interior address low recruitment rates, which it made while reviewing
WARNING: China has stepped up harassment of foreign vessels after its new regulation took effect last month, an official said, citing an incident in the Diaoyutai Islands The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday linked China’s seizure of a Taiwanese fishing vessel illegally operating in its territorial waters to Beijing’s new regulation authorizing the China Coast Guard to seize boats in waters it claims. Chinese officials boarded and then seized a Taiwanese fishing vessel operating near China’s coast close to Kinmen County late on Tuesday and took it to a Chinese port, the CGA said. The Penghu-registered squid fishing vessel Da Jin Man No. 88 (大進滿88) was boarded and seized by China Coast Guard east-northeast of Liaoluo Bay (料羅灣), 17.5 nautical miles (32.4km) from Taiwan’s restricted waters off Kinmen,
As eight basketball-playing international students appealed to the Taiwanese basketball industry after they were excluded from the draft of an upcoming new league merging the P.League+ and the T1 League, the new league’s preparatory committee spokesperson Chang Shu-jen (張樹人) yesterday said the committee would tomorrow discuss the supplementary measures and whether the international students can join the draft. The students on Tuesday called for support on their right to play in the upcoming new league, after a merger involving the two leagues impacted their eligibility for the draft. The international players from the University Basketball Association (UBA), led by first pick prospect
Some foreign companies are considering moving Taiwanese employees out of China after Beijing said it could impose the death penalty on “die-hard” Taiwanese independence advocates, four people familiar with the matter said. The new guidelines have caused some Taiwanese expatriates and foreign multinationals operating in China to scramble to assess their legal risks and exposure, said the people, who include a lawyer and two executives with direct knowledge of the discussions. “Several companies have come to us to assess the risks to their personnel,” said the lawyer, James Zimmerman, a Beijing-based partner at the Perkins Coie law firm. He declined to identify