The Cabinet yesterday defended a draft bill on information security as the legislation was again criticized for potential human rights infringements due to its authorization of the government to inspect private facilities whenever there is a security concern.
Clause 18 of the bill would authorize the government “to launch an investigation into non-governmental facilities when necessary,” which the Chinese-language China Times yesterday questioned over its potential human rights implications.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator John Wu (吳志揚) said the clause would exempt government agencies from the usual judicial process of seeking a court order to begin a search, while Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Yi-yu (蔡易餘) said modifications would have to be made for the bill to be approved, the report said.
It was the latest criticism of the draft bill over perceived conflicts with judicial rights and the Personal Information Protection Act (個人資料保護法).
During a legislative committee review of the draft bill on Nov. 6, lawmakers challenged the bill’s vague definition of investigation preconditions and the idea of investigations being led by non-judicial bodies.
In response, the Executive Yuan’s Department of Cyber Security defended the bill, saying that law enforcement would be carried out without infringing on human rights.
The “non-governmental facilities” in the bill are defined only as key infrastructure operators, state-run businesses and government-funded non-profit organizations, it said.
“Key infrastructure” refers to energy facilities, water resources, telecommunications facilities, transportation, banking and financial institutions, medical and search-and-rescue facilities, and science parks, the department said.
A risk assessment would be required for the government to put a particular facility under investigation.
The regulation of science parks would extend only to basic infrastructure operators such as power plants and water suppliers, instead of all companies and factories in the park, the department said.
An investigation could not be launched unless there is a major information security breach or unless the government, during regular security checks, discovers serious flaws in a facility’s security network.
The preconditions would prevent the abuse of investigative power, the department said, adding that investigators are legally obliged to protect secret information obtained during investigations.
The investigation would be handed over to the judiciary if any suspected criminal activity is discovered during the investigation, it said.
Calling for swift approval of the draft bill, the department said that human rights and privacy protection would be ensured while the government strives to build a safe digital environment.
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