Amnesty International Taiwan yesterday called for the establishment of a dedicated oversight body for the government’s planned electronic identification card (eID) program, citing potential privacy and security concerns.
The NT$3.3 billion (US$118.45 million at the current exchange rate) eID program was initiated by the Ministry of the Interior to replace national IDs with cards containing electronic chips that store personal information.
The government initially planned to introduce the IDs in October last year, but the launch was postponed due to the local COVID-19 outbreak, and criticism of the project for lacking public consultation and transparency in the tendering process.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Amnesty International Taiwan secretary-general Chiu Ee-ling (邱伊翎) told a news conference in Taipei that academics and human rights groups were concerned over the possible risks of using an eID, including the potential for data leaks and government abuse of personal information.
“In Taiwan, we still have not established comprehensive mechanisms and a legal framework for cybersecurity. Under such conditions, forcing the eID scheme on the public could result in serious problems such as the invasion of privacy and the leaking of data on individuals,” she said.
“It also makes it very easy for government agencies to track all aspects of people’s daily lives and enables tight authoritarian control on society,” Chiu added.
Citing a study on the eID scheme that drew on other countries’ experiences with such programs, she said that Germany passed laws to restrict the scope of such IDs, including where and in what capacity the data contained in them could be used.
Chiu said that the ministry often cited the use of eIDs in Estonia as an example when promoting the scheme.
However, Estonia suspended the eIDs of 800,000 people due to a security threat in 2018, she said. There were news reports last month regarding hackers that allegedly breached the system and stole nearly 300,000 ID photographs from Estonia’s database.
Along with calling for new cybersecurity laws and an independent regulatory body to oversee the program, Chiu and others demanded that the government allow people the choice to continue using traditional IDs.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Fan Yun (范雲) added that the use of eIDs also presents national security concerns due to the constant threat of attack from hackers in China.
New Power Party Legislator Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) said the scheme must consider privacy concerns and potential human rights issues.
“The current laws and regulatory bodies are insufficient for security protection and safety for use of eIDs,” he said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and