The Executive Yuan on Thursday approved draft amendments to curb the creation of “deepfake” pornography, and make the production and distribution of fake or manipulated images and video for profit a crime punishable by up to seven years in jail.
The proposals include an article directly addressing the practice of using machine learning or other means to insert the likeness of a person into existing videos or images.
The drafts were proposed after the arrest of a Taiwanese YouTuber suspected of creating and selling deepfake pornographic videos featuring more than 100 public figures and the “Nth Room” case in South Korea, in which a person spread sexually exploitive content through the Telegram app from 2018 to 2020.
Photo: CNA
The proposed legislation would add a provision to the Criminal Code making the production of sexual material of a person without their consent subject to a maximum prison sentence of three years, while the unauthorized distribution of such material could result in jail terms from six months to five years.
Anyone convicted of using threats or violence to coerce someone into creating or participating in sexual content would face up to five years in prison, and those distributing such content face one to seven years in jail.
Under the drafts, the punishments could be increased by one-and-a-half times for distributing such content for profit.
The production or dissemination of deepfakes is punishable by a jail term of up to five years, and up to seven years if the offense is profit-related, the proposals showed.
An amendment to the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act (兒童及少年性剝削防制條例) would raise the punishment for filming an underage person engaging in sexual intercourse or obscene acts, or producing material that show such acts through recruitment or other means, from three to seven years in prison to up to 10 years.
The proposal would raise the sentence for anyone who distributes material depicting an underage person engaging in sexual intercourse or obscene acts from no more than three years to one to seven years.
Anyone who possesses sexually explicit images or video of an underage person, with no reasonable explanation, would face up to one year in prison.
Internet service providers should have a mechanism in place to immediately remove illegal images and video, the drafts say.
They would also be required to maintain an online database of crimes and criminals as well as the personal data and records of suspected criminals for up to 180 days. Failure to do so would result in a fine of NT$60,000 to NT$600,000.
The proposed legislation also prohibits media from identifying victims of sexual violence, with fines of NT$60,000 to NT$600,000 for contraveners.
The draft amendments are to be submitted to the Legislative Yuan for review.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS