The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a proposal that would pave the way for the establishment of an independent agency tasked with improving personal data protection in Taiwan.
According to the Cabinet, the proposed bill and amendments, which still require legislative approval, would provide the legal basis for the planned Personal Data Protection Commission.
Under the proposal, each government agency should also appoint a “personal data protection officer” to coordinate and oversee efforts to bolster data protection and promote awareness of its importance.
Photo: AFP
At a news conference, Lin Yu-chia (林裕嘉), head of the planned agency’s preparatory office, said the commission would include five to seven commissioners serving for renewable four-year terms.
Commissioners would primarily be tasked with handling cases of personal data breaches in government agencies and private enterprises that “do not have a specific competent authority,” Lin said.
The commissioners, who are expected to work independently, would determine liability and subsequent penalties for those cases, she said.
Businesses without a specific competent authority would include platform-based information services and credit providers, Lin said.
If everything goes according to plan, the hope is that all businesses would fall under the commission’s jurisdiction within six years of operations, Lin added.
In addition to enforcing laws regarding personal data protection, the planned agency would also be responsible for formulating policies and regulations, developing and promoting technology applications, and talent incubation, she said.
The Cabinet’s proposal is aimed at addressing some problems, such as the absence of a comprehensive and uniform personal data protection supervisory mechanism and the lack of a designated agency that oversees public and private sectors, Lin said.
The establishment of a designated personal data protection agency was ordered by the Constitutional Court in a 2022 ruling, which gave the executive body a three-year grace period to set up an independent supervisory agency for better protection of personal data and privacy.
According to the ruling, the agency must be set up by Aug. 12.
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
RSS