The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday accused the government of attempting to control free speech on the Internet with its plans for an over-the-top media services management act.
While the National Communications Commission’s (NCC) draft version of the act would allow over-the-top media service providers to register on what the NCC has described as a “voluntary” basis, under the same act, the agency could also require mandatory registration of providers based on measures such as their number of users, revenue, amount of traffic or market influence, or for some other major public interest, the KMT said.
The draft act proposes a fine of up to NT$1 million (US$35,149) for those who do not register as requested, with the possibility of further fines, the party said.
Photo: CNA
Article 13 of the draft act states that if the NCC determines that a provider’s content is “harming national security,” or “harming public order or good morals,” the provider could be fined up to NT$1 million if corrections are not made within a specified time frame, with the possibility of further fines, the KMT added.
The proposed act would allow the government to “suppress people’s comments on the Internet,” KMT Institute of Revolutionary Practice director and Taipei City Councilor Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) said at a news conference in Taipei.
The KMT said that if the act proposed by the NCC is implemented, “in the future, there will be no freedom of speech in Taiwan.”
KMT Culture and Communications Committee director-general Alicia Wang (王育敏) said the government should not “test the public’s limits,” as there continues to be some anger about the removal on Saturday of CTi News after the NCC rejected the channel’s application to renew its broadcasting license.
“The anger has turned into support,” she said, citing an increase in subscribers to CTi News’ YouTube channel to more than 2 million.
Instead of reflecting on the public outcry over CTi News, the government is doubling down to “further suppress opinions on the Internet,” she added.
The KMT said that it would try to block the proposed act and it urged people to “come together and help defend the basic value of freedom of speech.”
The NCC also plans to propose a digital communications act which would “expand the scope of the suppression of freedom of speech,” the KMT said.
Accusing the government of wanting to “exclude all dissident voices on the Internet,” the party said that the two proposed acts would be the equivalent of a “digital” version of the authoritarian-era Publication Act (出版法), which suppressed ideas and restricted creative freedom.
Separately yesterday, NCC Chairman Chen Yaw-shyang (陳耀祥) said that the proposed digital communications act would better regulate “inappropriate” content on online platforms and that it would not be used to censor the Internet.
The government would never engage in censorship of the Internet, as it is a free, open and innovative space, Chen said.
The NCC is still drafting the bill and would listen to the views of all parties before presenting its final version to the legislature, he said.
The NCC proposed a similar act in 2018, but the bill was not passed by lawmakers due to concerns over censorship of the Internet.
That bill covered major online social media such as Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, and would have allowed people to report misinformation and fabricated news on an online platform.
Additional reporting by CNA
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
LIKE-MINDED COUNTRIES: Despite the threats from outside, Taiwan and Lithuania thrived and developed their economies, former president Tsai Ing-wen said Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday thanked Lithuania for its support of Taiwan, saying that both countries are united as partners in defending democracy. Speaking at a reception organized by the Lithuania-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group welcoming her on her first visit to the Baltic state, Tsai said that while she was president from 2016 to last year, many Lithuanian “friends” visited Taiwan. “And I told myself I have to be here. I am very happy that I am here, a wonderful country and wonderful people,” Tsai said. Taiwan and Lithuania are in similar situations as both are neighbors to authoritarian countries, she
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is to visit the UK during her ongoing European trip, which originally included only Lithuania and Denmark, her office said today. Tsai departed Taiwan for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark, marking her second visit to the continent since her two-term presidency ended in May last year. Her office issued a statement today saying that Tsai would also visit the UK "for a few days," during which she is to meet with UK politicians and Taiwanese professionals, and visit academic and research institutions. Following Tsai's stop in Denmark, she is to visit the