Google and Facebook would face stricter rules of accountability under a digital communications bill to be considered by the legislature, National Communications Commission (NCC) Chairman Chen Yaw-shyang (陳耀祥) said yesterday.
The commission on Wednesday unveiled the framework of the bill at a news conference in Taipei, saying that it was designed to regulate online platforms, as well as Internet service providers and caching service providers.
The bill would divide the operators of digital platforms into “online platform service providers” and “designated online platform service providers,” with the latter representing companies with a stronger market influence, which would have to meet more obligations, the commission said.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
Although the NCC said that the rules for designated online platform service providers would focus on businesses with large user bases and significant market power, the bill stoked fears online that the commission would target influential platforms in Taiwan, such as the Line messaging app or the Professional Technology Temple (PTT) bulletin board system.
At a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee yesterday, Chen was asked by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) to elaborate on how the commission would determine which entities were designated online platform service providers.
“We mainly follow the principle stated in the European Commission’s proposed digital services act, in which larger platforms are obligated to bear more responsibilities. Under such a principle, Google and Facebook would definitely be regulated, while other platforms would be regulated based on their attributes,” Chen said.
NCC commissioners could consider a platform’s active users, market influence and other factors before setting criteria for a designated online platform service provider, he told reporters on the sidelines of the meeting.
“However, regardless of the criteria we would use, Google and Facebook would qualify as designated online platform service providers given their massive user base,” he said.
Commissioners would have to further discuss whether the agency should regulate PTT and Line, which function differently from Facebook, he said.
Chen dismissed accusations that the commission intends to censor online content through the legislation, saying that it lists only responsibilities and obligations of large platform operators.
The focus of the digital communications bill is to address personal data protection as well as other consumer issues, he said.
Digital platform service providers would be asked to regularly produce transparency reports, offer consumer relief systems, disclose information about online sellers, present guidelines for handling complaints and ensure that the platform would not be abused, the commission said in a statement on Wednesday.
Users must be notified and told why their comments are taken down, while platform operators are required to list comments that they have removed on a database so that cases could be scrutinized by the public, the commission said, adding that users need to have ways to dispute claims.
Designated online platform service operators would also have to conduct independent audits and risk assessments, it said.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS