The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday reported that it received complaints about the media’s coverage of the killing of two Tainan police officers, with some saying that suspects’ faces should not be blurred on television.
The complaints came after local TV stations aired leaked pictures of two possible suspects for stabbing the two police officers to death on Monday, both surname Chen (陳), with their faces being blurred out. However, the police later identified the wanted man as Lin Hsin-wu (林信吾).
Despite the correction, people online quickly located personal information about one of the people earlier named by police.
The NCC said that it received complaints saying that some TV stations should not have blurred the face of the suspect to help the police in their nationwide search for Lin.
One complaint said that TV stations should always blur out a suspect’s face to maintain the secrecy of a criminal investigation and protect the right of suspects, it said.
The news ethics guidelines of the Satellite Television Broadcasting Association, whose members include all major television channels in Taiwan, state that broadcast news stations must consider the rights of suspects when interviewing, reporting and commenting on them based on the presumption of innocence, and ensure that viewers are aware of that, said Chen Chin-shuan (陳金霜), a senior specialist at the Department of Broadcasting and Content.
Broadcast news should observe the principle of nondisclosure of police investigations, and their reports on crime should prioritize information released by authorities, she said.
“The association should rethink what they should do in similar situations in the future,” Chen Chin-shuan said.
Separately, the NCC said it has no fixed timeline to finalize its draft digital intermediary act, which it proposed to handle issues such as nonconsensual photo sharing, Internet fraud and disinformation, among other issues.
The commission is to discuss the details of the draft with the Ministry of Digital Development, which is to be launched on Saturday, it said.
On Tuesday, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said that the Cabinet would not push the passage of the act if no consensus was reached, after various groups raised concerns that the bill was a burden to implement and could impede online speech freedoms.
“We have heard diverse opinions from various stakeholders through the three information sessions held in the past two weeks,” NCC Deputy Chairman and spokesman Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗) said. “Many of them said that the definition of digital intermediary service providers is unclear, and they were not sure whether they would be regulated by the draft act. We would need to examine, study and analyze any relevant controversies, which would take some time.”
The Taiwan Internet and E-Commerce Association, Taiwan Digital Media and Marketing Association, Digital Economy Association Taiwan and Professional Technology Temple bulletin board system told the commission that the draft act would increase the compliance costs once implemented.
Legal experts say the bill should more clearly detail rules governing data retrieval and the establishment of a specialized agency to coordinate issues of Internet governance.
The conditions under which agencies can apply for an information restraining order and request to have an alert placed next to a message online should also be clarified, experts say.
Controversies generated by the draft act showed that the commission failed to adequately assess how the act would affect freedom of speech and online platform operators, Wong 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
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
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
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