The National Communications Commission (NCC) on June 29 proposed a draft digital services intermediary act, which would establish special provisions for platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and DCard. Although the move has been criticized by opposition parties as restricting freedom of speech, this is actually not the case.
The draft law is largely based on the EU’s Digital Services Act, with the purpose of protecting users’ rights and requiring technology platforms to implement a self-discipline mechanism and improve transparency.
Whether during election and campaign periods, or since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a lot of fake news on the Internet, spreading confusion and panic. Most of the fake news items are obviously part of cognitive warfare conducted by Chinese cyberarmies, aiming to disrupt Taiwan’s elections or interfere with its control of the pandemic.
Therefore, this bill is necessary.
Facebook’s unreasonable censorship should also be targeted by the bill. Media reports have said that even though Chinese citizens are legally prohibited from using Facebook, Chinese are the ones responsible for censoring Taiwanese posts.
The reach of remarks that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) does not like — such as posts mentioning Hong Kong’s anti-extradition movement or supporting Hong Kong — is often reduced, resulting in particularly low visibility.
Words that the CCP does not like, such as “武漢肺炎” (Wuhan pneumonia) etc, may even be categorized as contravening the code of conduct and the author banned from posting.
On the other hand, many fake accounts in simplified Chinese that spam pornographic posts are often categorized as not in contravention of the rules even if they are reported, showing that Facebook’s censorship system is problematic.
Taiwan and China are obviously different countries, why should Taiwan’s posts be censored by people from another country, especially Chinese who grew up without freedom of speech?
Taiwan is one of the heavy users of Facebook. The platform makes a lot of money in Taiwan, but it makes Taiwanese users subject to China, which is hardly reasonable. Large-scale online platforms can easily become a vulnerability, enabling totalitarian countries to use democracy to oppose democracy.
It is important that the NCC follow in the footsteps of the EU’s Digital Services Act and require these platforms to be open and transparent.
As a democratic country, Taiwan should use auld digital services intermediary act to require Facebook to set up Taiwan’s own censorship team to prevent the platform from serving the CCP.
Pan Kuan was a participant in the Sunflower movement.
Translated by Lin Lee-Kai
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
On a quiet lane in Taipei’s central Daan District (大安), an otherwise unremarkable high-rise is marked by a police guard and a tawdry A4 printout from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicating an “embassy area.” Keen observers would see the emblem of the Holy See, one of Taiwan’s 12 so-called “diplomatic allies.” Unlike Taipei’s other embassies and quasi-consulates, no national flag flies there, nor is there a plaque indicating what country’s embassy this is. Visitors hoping to sign a condolence book for the late Pope Francis would instead have to visit the Italian Trade Office, adjacent to Taipei 101. The death of
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
There is much evidence that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is sending soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and is learning lessons for a future war against Taiwan. Until now, the CCP has claimed that they have not sent PLA personnel to support Russian aggression. On 18 April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinskiy announced that the CCP is supplying war supplies such as gunpowder, artillery, and weapons subcomponents to Russia. When Zelinskiy announced on 9 April that the Ukrainian Army had captured two Chinese nationals fighting with Russians on the front line with details
RSS