The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) is considering amendments to prevent Beijing from spreading disinformation through TikTok, a source said yesterday, as prosecutors and government officials investigate alleged illegal activity by the app’s Chinese owner.
The government is mulling amending the Anti-infiltration Act (反滲透法) or the National Security Act (國家安全法) to prevent false information from being spread through TikTok and its Chinese version, Douyin (抖音), as it might endanger national security, a source said yesterday.
The Executive Yuan has also formed a task force to discuss how to mitigate damage caused by Douyin, the source said.
Photo: AP
The Cabinet believes that blocking the platform in Taiwan would not prevent people from using it, but could reduce risk, they said.
As Beijing continues to spread propaganda as part of its “united front” efforts, Taiwan’s lack of a competent authority overseeing the Internet leaves a “huge loophole” in terms of national security, a source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The Ministry of Digital Affairs should be that competent authority, they said, adding that laws were needed to regulate online content, as simply blocking Douyin cannot effectively prevent Beijing from infiltrating Taiwan.
The MAC in a statement on Sunday said it launched an investigation into TikTok on Dec. 9, after Executive Yuan spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) said at an interministerial meeting that the application posed a cybersecurity threat.
After the meeting, the council submitted to prosecutors information on the app’s activities, which could contravene the Criminal Code.
The disclosure of the probe came after the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the sister paper of the Taipei Times) on Sunday reported that Beijing-headquartered ByteDance Ltd (字節跳動), the developer of TikTok, reportedly registered a company called Tiktoktaiwan Co Ltd (昇洋國際生技) with the Ministry of Economic Affairs in March 2018.
The firm on Nov. 2 changed its registered name to ByteDance Taiwan (字節跳動台灣), economic affairs ministry records showed.
ByteDance yesterday denied setting up a subsidiary in Taiwan.
The Ministry of Digital Affairs has already listed Douyin as a product that “endangers national information security,” as it is said to transmit user data back to Beijing.
Government employees are prohibited from using the application, which is also banned on information and communication devices in the public sector.
An anonymous national security official said that China is nurturing Taiwanese influencers in a bid to influence young Taiwanese through the platform.
To counter the influence of TikTok and Douyin, European countries and the US have focused on the platform’s information security problems, and Japan has focused on issues related to the spread of false information, while India blocked its use because it says the app puts national security and children at risk, the official said.
Apart from India, no other country bans the public from using the platform.
Additional reporting by Cheng Chi-fang and CNA
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in