Employers spying on employee instant messages; a police officer making unauthorized use of a police database to look up information about a woman romantically linked to a legislator; fraudulent telephone calls becoming the public’s No. 1 complaint — these recent news items all reflect a serious lack of attention paid to data privacy.
Advances in computer and information technology have, of course, made life more convenient. They have been helpful to the police in fighting crime. Instant messengers and other programs can make workplace communication much more efficient. TV shopping channels and online stores bring the convenience of shopping to the home.
The downside is that personal data privacy is threatened as never before. An inquisitive policeman can use a professional network to easily obtain someone’s personal information. An employer can monitor employee e-mails and other online activities at will. Personal data on consumers held by TV shopping channels and online stores can be leaked or fall into the hands of hackers and fraudsters. Who can we look to to protect our data privacy?
Take the case of the police officer who looked up details on the legislator’s girlfriend. The incident was uncovered in an investigation by the National Police Agency’s Information Management Center on its own initiative, but it seems likely that this was just the tip of the iceberg.
If citizen household registration data, tax records, health insurance details and other information can be found just as easily, similar cases are bound to keep cropping up. Can government departments be relied on to carry out internal checks? Who else will monitor whether they are doing their duty in regard to data security?
Aside from government departments, the potential for invasion of data privacy by private companies should be an even greater cause for concern.
Let us consider the case of employers who monitor their employees’ instant messages. Employers may well find it desirable or necessary to monitor use of the Internet and other electronic communications for various purposes, such as maintaining work efficiency — for example, by discouraging office staff from planting crops in virtual farms (a recent craze) — and protecting trade secrets. Monitoring may even conform with legal obligations, such as preventing sexual harassment.
But the employee’s right to privacy also needs to be protected. Privacy cases may be handled through arbitration or in courts of law, weighing up the interests of plaintiff and defendant, but would it not be better for departments concerned with such issues to take preventive measures by providing legally sound guidance and suggestions for employers to follow?
Similarly, instead of having thousands of police officers stand next to automatic teller machines all day and man the 165 fraud hotline, could the government not tackle the problem at its source by reinforcing the inspection of data protection by TV and Internet shopping firms?
The truth is that cases like these ceased to be “news” long ago, but the government has not come up with solutions. One reason is the pace of legislation. A draft personal data protection law proposed some time ago has not been passed. Another key point is the lack of a department or executive personnel dedicated to personal data protection.
Let us hope the government will take up chances offered by structural reform and the passage of the personal data law to incorporate “personal data ombudsmen” into executive departments, as suggested by human rights groups. That would be an effective response to privacy problems in our information-based society.
Liu Ting-chi is an assistant professor of law at National Chengchi University.
TRANSLATED BY JULIAN CLEGG
Two sets of economic data released last week by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) have drawn mixed reactions from the public: One on the nation’s economic performance in the first quarter of the year and the other on Taiwan’s household wealth distribution in 2021. GDP growth for the first quarter was faster than expected, at 6.51 percent year-on-year, an acceleration from the previous quarter’s 4.93 percent and higher than the agency’s February estimate of 5.92 percent. It was also the highest growth since the second quarter of 2021, when the economy expanded 8.07 percent, DGBAS data showed. The growth
In the intricate ballet of geopolitics, names signify more than mere identification: They embody history, culture and sovereignty. The recent decision by China to refer to Arunachal Pradesh as “Tsang Nan” or South Tibet, and to rename Tibet as “Xizang,” is a strategic move that extends beyond cartography into the realm of diplomatic signaling. This op-ed explores the implications of these actions and India’s potential response. Names are potent symbols in international relations, encapsulating the essence of a nation’s stance on territorial disputes. China’s choice to rename regions within Indian territory is not merely a linguistic exercise, but a symbolic assertion
More than seven months into the armed conflict in Gaza, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take “immediate and effective measures” to protect Palestinians in Gaza from the risk of genocide following a case brought by South Africa regarding Israel’s breaches of the 1948 Genocide Convention. The international community, including Amnesty International, called for an immediate ceasefire by all parties to prevent further loss of civilian lives and to ensure access to life-saving aid. Several protests have been organized around the world, including at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and many other universities in the US.
Every day since Oct. 7 last year, the world has watched an unprecedented wave of violence rain down on Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories — more than 200 days of constant suffering and death in Gaza with just a seven-day pause. Many of us in the American expatriate community in Taiwan have been watching this tragedy unfold in horror. We know we are implicated with every US-made “dumb” bomb dropped on a civilian target and by the diplomatic cover our government gives to the Israeli government, which has only gotten more extreme with such impunity. Meantime, multicultural coalitions of US