More than 60 percent of complaints about online content are about pornography, a survey showed yesterday.
The survey was conducted by Cyber Angel’s Pick, an NGO authorized by the National Communications Commission to accept complaints about online content and forward them to the appropriate government ministry or agency.
Cyber Angel’s Pick executive director Vivian Huang (黃葳威) said they had received a total of 5,822 complaints since August last year and that 63 percent were about Internet pornography.
This number far exceeded complaints related to Internet fraud or inappropriate remarks, which were identified as the second and third major sources of complaints, accounting for 12 percent and 10 percent respectively, she said.
“Most of the Internet portal sites and blogs will voluntarily remove problematic content whenever they are told that their content violates regulations,” Huang said. “If they refuse, we notify the administrative agencies in charge for a follow-up.”
The group had also seen an increase in complaints about mobile phone applications, she said.
Jason Ho (何吉森), director of the commission’s communication content department, said the commission was working with NGOs in different countries to report problematic online content.
It has also asked portal operators to exercise self-discipline, Ho said.
An amendment to the Children and Youth Welfare Act (兒童及少年福利法) is under review at the legislature, Ho said, adding that if it is passed, the commission would have the legal authority to convene a cross-departmental meeting to address the security of online content.
In related news, the commission approved license renewal applications by some of the nation’s major TV news channels yesterday, including ETTV News, SET TV News, TVBS News, Formosa TV News and ERA News.
The management at those channels made several promises to the commission before they were granted the license renewals.
One promise was that operators must stipulate guidelines governing the production of news in which reporters conduct experiments or surveys themselves.
“We are not banning these type of reports,” commission spokesperson Chen Jeng-chang (陳正倉) said. “However, we want the reports to present the truth and not cause damage to any party involved through problematic ‘experiments.’”
ERA and FTV News were also asked to restrain coverage when their channels or affiliates become of the focus of news.
ERA News provided excessive coverage about its sister channel, ERA Variety Channel, when the latter’s operational license was annulled by the commission last year, Chen said.
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