The Institute of Watch Internet Network’s inbox this month was inundated with complaints from people who clicked on the link on Professional Technology Temple (PTT), the nation’s largest online bulletin board system, institute executive secretary Liu Yu-chun (劉昱均) told reporters in a telephone interview.
It ordered PTT to remove the post, as it had a hyperlink to an animation of female characters engaged in sexual intercourse, Liu said, adding that the first complaints were received in December last year.
The institute, a semi-official task force funded by multiple government agencies, reviews complaints about online content and relays them to the agencies.
Photo: CNA
Complaints about online content involving sexual exploitation of children are forwarded to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, which is in charge of enforcing the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act (兒童及少年性剝削防制條例).
The PTT incident triggered debate over whether the act, which was amended last year, applies to images based on children, whether they are created by artificial intelligence (AI) or artists.
“The text was about a new online adult game and contained a hyperlink to the game,” Liu said.
“Female characters in the game look like elementary-school students,” she said. “People complained that the images depicted children having sexual intercourse, although the sexual organs were blurred.”
“After consulting child experts and non-governmental organizations, we determined that the content contravened the act and asked PTT and the person who posted the message to take it down,” she said.
PTT voluntarily took down the post, as it knows that the institute does not issues notices arbitrarily, she added.
“We have also ascertained that the act applies even if it involves animated or AI-generated characters that are child-like,” she said.
“The ministry asked Shopee.com to take down AI-generated images of children being sold online, as they contravened the act and the Criminal Code,” she added.
Disseminating pictures of children being sexually exploited is different from disseminating pornographic content, Liu said.
“Even though PTT and the poster have taken down the content, we still have to report the case to the police and prosecutors, as well as to the social welfare agency, as it is a criminal offense,” she said. “Even if prosecutors do not press charges, the social welfare agency might impose a fine.”
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS