Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said that he would ask the Taipei Department of Information Technology to draft a special regulation to protect personal information, after smart vending machines placed on school campuses in the city sparked privacy concerns.
The machines can only be operated by scanning a student’s ID card and do not accept cash.
“Smart city, big data, or AI [artificial intelligence] smart vending machines, these are imperative,” Ko said.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Department of Education
“However, as people are concerned about personal information protection, I will ask the Department of Information Technology to draft a special chapter to regulate city government or private companies’ handling of data ownership,” he said.
While the city government references similar laws in the EU or the US, Taiwan also has the Computer-Processed Personal Data Protection Act (電腦保護個人資料處理法), he added.
The Taipei Department of Education in March announced that it had chosen nine schools to test smart vending machines to sell safety-approved food products and stationery on campus.
The policy’s aim is “to let students get used to cashless transactions from a young age,” it said.
The goal is to let every public school in the city have at least one smart vending machine, it said at the time.
The department said in a news release on Sunday that as of Sept. 30, smart vending machines had been installed in 89 schools in the city, but if the schools or parents have concerns over the policy, they can suspend the installations until a consensus has been reached.
“The department will continue to communicate and promote the policy to help schools and parents fully understand it. We hope that the policy, as well as courses on transaction data analysis, financial management and life education, can help students learn more about these concepts,” it said.
The policy also sparked debates about food hygiene and nutritional value, as well as possible overspending by children and personal information safety.
National Chengchi University associate professor of law Liu Hung-en (劉宏恩) on Monday said on Facebook that as student ID cards come with EasyCard payment functions, he suspects the policy’s aim is to collect big data on students’ consumption behavior to develop an “artificial intelligence business model.”
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) also questioned the policy, saying that its main purpose is to help companies make money and that it has no educational value.
DPP Taipei City Councilor Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) on Monday said that two companies have been commissioned to install the machines in more than 230 schools in the city.
The companies are to pay a rent of NT$1,000 per machine per month over three years, Wu said.
She asked whether the policy’s real aim is to collect data and why all of the city’s schools have been required to have at least one machine on their campus.
Taipei Department of Education Chief Secretary Chen Su-hui (陳素慧) yesterday said that when students buy products with their student IDs, the machines only scan the card number and do not access students’ personal information.
Ko has repeatedly said he aims to transform Taipei into a smart city, where transactions would be made through digital payments and cash would be eliminated.
He has also said that the city would take the lead by implementing a digital payment policy in government facilities.
The Ministry of Finance this afternoon announced the winning numbers for the March-April uniform invoice lottery. The winning number for the NT$10 million (US$318,060) special prize is 19531471, and the winning number for the NT$2 million grand prize is 85941329. Three numbers were drawn for the NT$200,000 first prize: 07225810, 20231230 and 83518781. Those with receipts matching the last seven digits of any of the first-prize numbers will win the NT$40,000 second prize, while those matching the last six digits will win the NT$10,000 third prize. Those whose receipts match the last five digits of the first-prize numbers can claim the NT$4,000 fourth prize,
SIX SUBSIDIES: The monthly allowance for older farmers is to increase to NT$10,000, and NT$5,000 is to be given to homemakers under the national pension system, Lai said The government is to implement major welfare policies for disadvantaged groups, including raising the monthly allowance for older farmers to NT$10,000 and providing homemakers with NT$5,000 per month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks during a visit to Wangling Temple in Chiayi County, saying that the planned increases were being introduced amid economic growth and an increase in tax revenue. Touting a policy, in which the government plans to provide a monthly allowance of NT$5,000 for every child under the age of 18 in a bid to address Taiwan’s low birthrate, Lai said that if received for the
STAY COOL: The HPA recommended that people stay hydrated, use air-conditioning or fans while indoors, wear loose-fitting clothes and walk in the shade while outdoors Employers must implement measures such as installing cooling equipment, and providing drinking water and rest breaks for outdoor workers starting from Monday next week, the Taipei Department of Labor said on Sunday. Employers who fail to comply could face fines of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000 under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法), the department said. Businesses in Taipei employing fewer than 100 workers, as well as registered self-employed workers with labor insurance coverage, could receive on-site assessments and guidance from occupational safety consultants to help them apply for central government subsidies to implement or improve heat-protection measures, it said. Under the Ministry of
ISOLATION: The outposts would serve as support and backup bases, forcing US forces to either face China head-on or reroute, increasing travel time and operational costs China’s outposts in the South China Sea could be used to delay and constrain foreign forces during a conflict in the Taiwan Strait, giving Beijing a critical window to carry out amphibious landing and blockade operations, a report said. The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) forward operating bases on islands and reclaimed features in the South China Sea could delay foreign forces long enough for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to secure a key 48-to-72-hour window in the Taiwan Strait, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council found. The report, conducted by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, examined
RSS