Taiwan “does not need to wait for the US” to confront Meta Platforms over allegations that the social media company aided Beijing in censoring speech, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) said yesterday.
He made the comments during Minister of Digital Affairs Huang Yen-nun’s (黃彥男) report on a cybersecurity bill at the legislature in Taipei, a week after a whistle-blower testified before the US Senate that the company helped China silence dissidents on the platform.
The testimony from former Meta executive Sarah Wynn-Williams suggested that Meta’s collusion with Beijing extended to Taiwan and Hong Kong, Tsai said.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Although the truth of the allegations has yet to be proven, the Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) should ensure the community guidelines used by social media platforms are transparent and open to public scrutiny, he said.
No platform should be allowed to delete speech at whim, he added.
Huang said officials would communicate with Meta about the lack of transparency on its platforms.
However, the ministry believes it should wait for the US Congress to complete its investigation before deciding on an appropriate response, he said.
The government cannot shut down social media platforms before explaining its decision to the public, he added.
In response, Tsai told the minister: “Stop communicating.”
Unlike the US, Taiwan faces an imminent national security threat from China and cannot afford to shy from empowering its regulators or demanding social media companies to explain their moderation policies, he said.
Platforms cannot be allowed to delete speech at will or target comments that criticize China at the behest of Beijing while pretending to support freedom and democracy, Tsai said.
“Every time Meta was brought up, you said [MODA] would have coffee with their people,” he said. “That approach did not work when we were dealing with fraud, and I do not believe it will work now.”
“A US company should follow our laws when operating on our soil, the same as any other foreign company,” he added.
Huang told lawmakers that the proposed amendments to the Cyber Security Management Act (資通安全管理法) was a bid to close “unpatched loopholes” that recent cyberattacks had exposed.
The law has not been updated since its promulgation in 2019, he said, adding that the nation’s cybersecurity has increased significantly in the interim.
The bill would clarify that the Administration for Cyber Security is the agency in charge of enforcing cybersecurity, and establish a cybersecurity incident response mechanism to coordinate the efforts of central and local officials, he said.
The Administration for Cyber Security would be empowered to oversee cybersecurity measures in all offices and branches of the government, including the Presidential Office, Huang said.
Regulators would receive enhanced authority to supervise government contractors and other private entities, including the power to investigate certain cybersecurity breaches, he said.
Rules empowering the government to ban the use of dangerous devices, software and other products in government offices would be elevated into law, he added.
In addition, government personnel rules would be amended to authorize the employment of qualified cybersecurity experts, Huang said.
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
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
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if the next president of that country decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said today. “We would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said during a legislative hearing. At the same time, Taiwan is paying close attention to the Central American region as a whole, in the wake of a visit there earlier this year by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Lin said. Rubio visited Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Guatemala, during which he
RSS