Proposed amendments to the Sexual Assault Crime Prevention Act (性侵害犯罪防治法) and the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act (兒少性剝削犯罪防治條例) should provide more protection and support for people whose private images are shared without their consent, women’s and children’s rights groups said yesterday.
The legislature is to review the proposals this week. They are expected to pass their third readings with cross-party support.
New Power Party Legislator Claire Wang (王婉諭), whose daughter was decapitated by an attacker in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖) in 2016, applauded the Executive Yuan for the bills, but said online platform operators should bear more responsibility in deterring the dissemination of illegal content.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
If passed, the amendment to the Sexual Assault Crime Prevention Act would provide the legal basis for removing intimate images shared without people’s consent, while changes to the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act would restrict the viewing of illegally obtained sexual images, Wang said.
Internet service providers would also be responsible for taking action against users who contravene service agreements, she said.
“When an illegally obtained intimate photograph or video is identified, Internet platform operators should see if the same file exists elsewhere on the platforms. Hyperlinks to the image should be removed and users who disseminate illegal sexual images should be restricted on the platforms,” Wang said.
The government should encourage Internet platform operators to control the quality of their platforms, and establish mechanisms to remove illegal content and collect users’ complaints, she said.
While the proposals waive fines for Internet platform operators if they have legitimate reasons not to immediately remove illegal sexual images, they do not negate their obligations to remove illegal content, and the government could continue to pursue the issue, she added.
A study last year of 105 sexually exploited children and teenagers who received help from the Garden of Hope Foundation showed that 51.43 percent were victims of digital violence, foundation deputy executive director Wang Shu-fen (王淑芬) said.
Of those, 79.6 percent had their intimate images and personal information spread online without their permission, 42.6 percent encountered sexual blackmail and 14.8 percent experienced online sexual harassment, Wang Shu-fen said.
“The physical and mental health of children and teenagers would be better protected if platforms were asked to restrict access to illegal content for 24 hours,” she said.
“The Executive Yuan’s version of the amendments defines ‘sexual images’ as ‘images or electromagnetic records that are objectively sexually arousing or scandalous,’ which is inappropriate. The definition stigmatizes sex and puts a label on victims,” Wang Shu-fen said.
The government also needs to stipulate supporting measures, Children Welfare League Foundation senior director Lee Hung-wen (李宏文) said.
To enforce the laws, the government needs to increase the budget and personnel dedicated to the prevention of sexual exploitation, Lee said.
Children and teenagers should be taught how to protect themselves from new ways of digital kidnapping and sexual exploitation, he said.
An agency specializing in cybersecurity for children and teenagers should be set up, Lee said.
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