Apple Daily (Taiwan) has been warned that it must not transfer personal data to a third party without legal authorization, the Ministry of Culture said in a statement yesterday, adding that the newspaper is required to submit a detailed plan on how it plans to handle the data within 10 days.
The sale of the Chinese-language online newspaper came under close scrutiny after Economic Democracy Union convener Lai Chung-chiang (賴中強) accused the newspaper’s new owner, Singaporean Joseph Phua (潘杰賢), of accepting funding from China and intending to use archived data from Apple Daily (Taiwan) for purposes unrelated to running a news Web site, which would potentially also contravene the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法).
Lai in June reported the case to the Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office in Taipei.
Photo: CNA
The sale involves various issues, such as freedom of the press, national security, personal data protection and workers’ benefits, the ministry said, adding that it on Wednesday sent a letter to Apple Daily (Taiwan) to remind its management that the way they collect, handle and use personal data should be in accordance with the Personal Data Protection Act and other relevant regulations.
The act would protect most of the data possessed by the Apple Daily (Taiwan), including information about the newspaper’s employees, advertisers, freelance writers, and print and online content subscribers, the ministry said.
Material by which personal information could be directly or indirectly identified is also protected by the act, such as annual tax reports and news material that has not been published, it said.
“We are asking the newspaper to stipulate a detailed plan to ensure the security of personal data in its possession. The plan should also detail how personal data would be disposed of after the business is closed. Such a plan should be delivered to the Ministry of Culture within 10 days,” the ministry said.
Personal data must not be transferred to a third party without legal authorization, it said.
If a new company or platform is created following the change in ownership, the new management must not use the database if its use contravenes the act, it added.
Apple Daily (Taiwan) on Wednesday said in a statement that the personal data of employees and subscribers, as well as published and unpublished material, would be destroyed after being archived for a number of years.
The Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) states that information about current and former employees must stay in archives for five to seven years before being destroyed, while the Business Entity Accounting Act (商業會計法) stipulates that financial statements, tax reports and other related documents must be held for five to 10 years, the statement said.
Subscribers’ information would be retained, as some have yet to cancel their subscription and request a refund, it said.
“We will also comply with the Article 21 of the Enforcement Rules of the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法施行細則) and archive published and unpublished material,” the newspaper 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
RSS