The government is to closely monitor the legislative process on a potential ban of TikTok by the US Congress and take the opinions of all stakeholders into consideration, Executive Yuan spokesperson Lin Tze-luen (林子倫) said yesterday.
The US House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill asking the short-form video hosting service to divest shares owned by its parent company ByteDance in six months or face a comprehensive ban in the US.
The US Senate has yet to deliberate on the bill.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
US President Joe Biden said that he would sign the bill into law if Congress passes it.
Authoritarian regimes frequently abuse freedom of speech in liberal democracies and manipulate election results through social media, Lin said.
TikTok has in some countries become a platform on which cognitive warfare is conducted, he added.
“We have been aware of the risks of accessing TikTok. As such, all government agencies in Taiwan have been banned from using the app since 2019,” Lin said.
The government would ensure freedom of speech in Taiwan would be protected, he added.
“Fake and false information on TikTok has harmed people’s fame, health and privacy, and affected social stability and national security, so democratic nations must be cautious in handling the dissemination of misinformation and disinformation,” Lin said.
Aside from banning government agencies from using TikTok, national security officials have warned that TikTok could pose a threat to national security, Deputy Minister of Digital Affairs Lee Huai-jen (李懷仁) said.
“We have asked that TikTok, like Meta, Google, Line and X, have a representative in Taiwan whom we can contact when there is a need for direct communication. The company would be quickly informed if any illegality was found by the platform,” Lee said.
Banning the use of TikTok would be a major policy change, Lee said, adding that the Executive Yuan would evaluate its legality and feasibility and make a final decision following interdepartmental meetings.
READY: The CGA said it closely monitored China’s maritime exercise, deployed vessels to shadow the Chinese ships one-on-one and set up emergency response centers Chinese navy and coast guard ships have returned to China, signaling the end of a massive maritime exercise, authorities said yesterday. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) released images it said showed Chinese vessels sailing north in rough seas past Taiwan on Thursday, on their way to China. “All the Chinese coast guard went back to China yesterday, so although they have not officially made any announcement, we consider it over,” CGA Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said. Beijing has not confirmed the drills and the Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not say whether the maneuvers had taken place when asked at a
People can take the Taipei MRT free of charge if they access it at Nanjing Sanmin Station or Taipei Arena Station on the Green Line between 12am and 6am on Jan. 1, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Friday, outlining its plans to ease crowding during New Year’s events in the capital. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend New Year’s Eve events in Taipei, with singer A-mei (張惠妹) performing at the Taipei Dome and the city government’s New Year’s Eve party at Taipei City Hall Plaza, the department said. As people have tended to use the MRT’s Blue or
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: As some roads would be fully or partially closed, people are advised to take the MRT, with services expanded to accommodate more riders This year’s Taipei Marathon, which has obtained its first gold label certification from World Athletics, is to be held from 5am to 1pm tomorrow and would have 28,000 participants. The race is to start from the Taipei City Plaza and would go through major roads throughout the city, with traffic control implemented from 6am to 2pm, officials said. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system and New Taipei City MRT Circle line would start operating at 5am on the day of the race, they said. The race would cover Renai Road, Xinyi Road, Hangzhou S Road, Aiguo east and west roads,
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
RSS