The government is to crack down on the sale of illegal set-top boxes for Internet portal television (IPTV), the National Communications Commission (NCC) said yesterday, adding that the punishment would apply to manufacturers, distributors and retailers of the illegal devices.
Sellers complain that the devices give viewers unrestricted access to online content, the commission said.
However, not only are they not certified for safety, but sellers could infringe on copyright regulations by airing content without authorization from distributors and users could risk leaking personal information to third parties, it added.
The commission said the crackdown would not only apply to manufacturers of the boxes, but also to distributors and sellers, who would be penalized based the types of violations committed and the amount of profit made from selling the devices.
The commission last week fined Taipei-based HE Technology Information Co NT$140,000 for violating Article 49 of the Telecommunications Act (電信法) by selling uncertified IPTV set-top boxes.
The government requires that certification be acquired for the boxes to regulate the allocation and emission of radio waves and ensure that their use would not interfere with other electronic devices, the commission said.
These devices cannot be mass-produced, imported, sold or displayed publicly without first being certified, it said.
The commission also said that its certification only applies to the function of the radio-frequency devices and not to the content that could be accessed by them.
“When applying for certification, manufacturers must also submit an affidavit to guarantee that they are not violating regulations related to intellectual property rights,” the commission said.
“Manufacturers risk having their certifications annulled if a court rules that they have violated intellectual property regulations,” it added.
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
RSS