The nation needs to deal with new forms of digital crimes by providing law enforcement agencies with tools powered by new technologies, a Ministry of Justice (MOJ) official said yesterday in defense of a draft “technological investigation act.”
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) members and some legal experts have condemned the draft act as going backward and infringing on personal privacy rights.
The KMT caucus in a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei called on its members to block the draft act, saying that the government is heading for authoritarian rule and is violating the basic rights of its citizens.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
The proposed law could also be used as a tool for political persecution, it said.
“We are worried about pervasive surveillance of interpersonal communications. People will live under constant surveillance by the government’s judicial agencies. We believe there is no need for this draft act,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Yi-hua (林奕華) said.
“The limitations must be defined clearly, even on investigating criminal cases, and the main principle should be minimal infringement of personal privacy,” Judicial Reform Foundation chairman Joseph Lin (林永頌) said.
The goals for the draft act can be achieved by amending the Communication Security and Surveillance Act (通訊保障及監察法), he added.
Department of Prosecutorial Affairs Deputy Director Lee Hao-sung (李濠松) told the news conference that the draft act is needed to keep up with new technologies.
“We can review its provisions and make adjustments, as our ministry has the obligation to consult with the public, in line with the government’s insistence on openness and transparency,” Lee said.
“The draft act is aimed at criminals. It is not to be used on the general public, nor will it be used in investigating political cases,” he said.
“We have to deal with new forms of digital crimes in cyberspace, so we need new ways of investigation,” Lee said.
He cited a case from 2017 in which a Coast Guard Administration official installed a GPS tracking device on a boat to investigate allegations of drug smuggling, but was sued by the defendants.
The Supreme Court eventually convicted the official for violating personal privacy, he added.
“It has been found that most of the communications for selling illegal drugs are done through [the messaging app] Line,” Lee said. “However, Line Corp is an Internet service company, not a telecom, and does not have telecommunications hardware equipment on which to install a wiretap. Therefore, under current law, judicial investigators are not permitted to listen in on Line conversations, or see its content.”
“Under the draft act, our ministry would assess varying needs for surveillance. In cases involving lesser infringements of privacy, we could authorize prosecutors for an investigation. For those with more severe infringements, we would need to obtain approval from a court,” he said.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said that a surge in respiratory illnesses in China has been caused by at least seven types of pathogens, and small children, elderly people and immunocompromised people should temporarily avoid unnecessary visits to China. The recent outbreak of respiratory illnesses in China is mainly in the north and among children, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said on Monday. Data released by the Chinese National Health Commission on Sunday showed that among children aged one to four, the main pathogens were influenza viruses and rhinoviruses, while among children aged five to 14, the main pathogens
A new poll of Taiwanese voters found the top opposition candidate for president jumping past the ruling party’s hopeful into the lead position ahead of January’s election — the latest twist in a drama-filled race. Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) had an approval rating of 31.9 percent versus 29.2 percent for the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the poll released yesterday by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation showed. The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), ranked third with 23.6 percent, according to the survey conducted
A New Taipei City hotpot restaurant could be fined after a rat dropped from the ceiling and landed on a customer’s plate last week, the New Taipei City Department of Health said yesterday after conducting an inspection. A woman recently posted on the “I am a Banciao resident” (我是板橋人) social media group saying that she had been eating with a friend at Chien Tu Shabu Shabu Hotpot Restaurant’s Shuangshi B branch in Banciao District (板橋). “While still eating, a big rat suddenly dropped down from the ceiling, landing on a plate next to a hotpot,” she said. “Later on, a member of
Actress Hu Ling (胡伶) on Saturday became the first Chinese movie star to walk the red carpet of the Golden Horse Awards since 2019, when China boycotted Taiwan’s biggest awards show over political tensions. Beijing banned its entertainers from joining the awards, dubbed the Chinese-language Oscars, after documentary director Fu Yu (傅榆) voiced support for Taiwan’s formal independence in an acceptance speech in 2018. There were no films from China in the 2019 nomination list and several Hong Kong movies dropped out that year, while several big commercial productions were conspicuously absent at both the 2020 and 2021 awards. However, Hu, nominated for
RSS