Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) yesterday asked the National Communications Commission (NCC) not to follow in the footsteps of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in abandoning the principle of net neutrality.
The US adopted net neutrality in laws and regulations applied to Internet service providers during the administration of former US president Barack Obama, barring Internet service providers from offering faster Internet services for those who could afford to pay more, Lin said, but added that the FCC voted to repeal those regulations last year.
Following the FCC’s decision, Taiwan Mobile urged the NCC to follow suit, Lin said.
Abandoning the principle of net neutrality would favor big Internet service providers such as Google and Facebook, which can afford to pay more for faster Internet connections, Lin said, adding that it could also push new players and start-ups out of the market.
Many telecoms have also produced over-the-top (OTT) content, which people can access through the Internet, Lin said.
If telecoms are exempted from observing net neutrality, people would be able to access the OTT content faster than other content, he said, adding that this would result in unfair competition.
Lin noted that many nations have chosen to enforce this principle, adding that the NCC should considering clearly stating the principle in the draft act on telecommunications service management (電信管理法).
The NCC should not be affected by the FCC decision or succumb to pressure from telecoms, Lin added.
In response, NCC Chairwoman Nicole Chan (詹婷怡) said that the draft act is based on the principle of net neutrality, even though the term is not included in the draft’s text.
“We have imposed obligations on significant market players, which should be enough to ensure that the principle is observed,” Chan said.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
RSS