The government is planning to amend the National Security Act (NSA, 國家安全法) to stop the spread of false information on the Internet, government sources said yesterday.
The nation’s biggest online bulletin board system, Professional Technology Temple (PTT), has been infiltrated by Chinese ghostwriters and fake accounts, the sources said.
They are manipulating online discussions and cooperating with China to create false information and fake news, and to spread rumors online, they said, adding that pro-China media then distribute these rumors, resulting in social conflict.
The Ministry of the Interior, the National Police Agency and the National Immigration Agency are examining regulations to address their shortcomings, the sources said.
The agencies have not decided whether to approach the issue from the perspective of national security or social order, they said.
However, they would not propose legislation that would allow people to be detained for three days for spreading false information, as some legislators have suggested, they said.
The agencies would not propose new regulations, but rather amend laws and regulations, such as the National Security Act, the sources said, adding that amending the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法) would not be a priority.
If they decide to propose changes to the National Security Act, it might involve the Executive Yuan, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of the Interior and national security agencies, the sources said.
The agencies are still carefully drafting plans and nothing has been settled yet, they said.
The goal of the amendments would be to ensure that information spread online is correct, and to prevent false information from spreading, they said.
Several academics have suggested that Article 2-1 of the National Security Act, which prohibits people from providing confidential information or developing organizations for official use by a foreign country, be amended to include “online armies.”
Government agencies are assessing the feasibility of this suggestion, the sources said.
False information and fake news must be contained at the source, they said, adding that only by finding the source can the government convince the public that the information is incorrect.
The government will deploy technology to uncover the sources of false information and punish them, the sources said.
If the false information originated from China or other foreign forces who are intentionally spreading it to attack the government and engage in online psychological warfare, the government would discuss measures to handle them and ensure that there will be laws to deal with them, they added.
The Ministry of the Interior has advised Internet users to judge whether the information they receive is true before forwarding it.
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
‘IRRESPONSIBLE’: Beijing’s constant disruption of the ‘status quo’ in the Taiwan Strait has damaged peace, stability and security in the Indo-Pacific region, MOFA said The Presidential Office yesterday condemned China’s launch of another military drill around Taiwan, saying such actions are a “unilateral provocation” that destabilizes regional peace and stability. China should immediately stop the irresponsible and provocative actions, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said, after the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) yesterday announced the start of a new round of joint exercises around Taiwan by the army, navy and air force, which it said were approaching “from different directions.” Code-named “Justice Mission 2025,” the exercises would be conducted in the Taiwan Strait and in areas north, southwest, southeast and east of Taiwan
UNDER WAY: The contract for advanced sensor systems would be fulfilled in Florida, and is expected to be completed by June 2031, the Pentagon said Lockheed Martin has been given a contract involving foreign military sales to Taiwan to meet what Washington calls “an urgent operational need” of Taiwan’s air force, the Pentagon said on Wednesday. The contract has a ceiling value of US$328.5 million, with US$157.3 million in foreign military sales funds obligated at the time of award, the Pentagon said in a statement. “This contract provides for the procurement and delivery of 55 Infrared Search and Track Legion Enhanced Sensor Pods, processors, pod containers and processor containers required to meet the urgent operational need of the Taiwan air force,” it said. The contract’s work would be
RSS