The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday called on the Executive Yuan to reassess changes it was reportedly planning to make to a digital communications bill, saying that some of them would infringe on freedom of speech.
The Executive Yuan’s plan to add a rule to the bill that would reportedly require digital communications companies to take down any piece of disinformation within 24 hours or be fined would contravene the Manila Principles on Intermediary Liability, the caucus said, adding that it shows the Democratic Progressive Party’s intent to limit freedom of speech.
The Manila Principles refer to a set of standards created by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which state that intermediary platforms should be shielded from liability for third-party content, and policies restricting content or court orders should be clearly defined by law and respect due process.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
The Executive Yuan has not engaged in effective and substantive communication with digital communications companies about the changes, which would jeopardize the nation’s hard-fought freedom of the press and speech, KMT caucus whip Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) told a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
He urged the DPP administration to hold public hearings on proposed changes to the bill.
KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Jason Hsu (許毓仁) said that the Cabinet had invited a number of digital communications companies to attend meetings at its premises in Taipei, during which representatives were told to passively accept changes to the bill.
The fine recommended by the Executive Yuan for operators that do not remove disinformation within a prescribed period would amount to 10 percent of their revenue in the previous year, Hsu said.
He added that in responding to an open letter by the Asia Internet Coalition, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka on Wednesday made a far-fetched argument that the changes abide by the Manila Principles.
The planned changes would lead to the reinstatement of an authoritarian regime in Taiwan, KMT Legislator Lee Yen-hsu (李彥秀) said.
Despite the heavy costs of screening fake information, government platforms have been created for the task, she said.
It is the government’s job to communicate with the public and explain its policies, and the government should not try to transfer its responsibility of clarifying fake news to private companies at the expense of freedom of speech, she said.
Minister Without Portfolio Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) on Monday told a news conference that the alleged changes would not be part of the latest legislative efforts to counter fake news.
He said at a news conference yesterday that the Cabinet would not change something that has not been passed into law.
In response to the Asia Internet Coalition’s open letter, he asked whether private digital communications platforms can disclaim responsibility for exercising self-regulation to curb the spread of fake news.
He also raised the issue of online personalized advertisements and the lack of protection of users’ privacy, asking whether such platforms plan to propose any concrete measure to improve their protection of users’ personal information.
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