The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday released transparency, and complaint and correction guidelines, saying that it would this year evaluate five big international platforms based on those.
The five large international platforms include YouTube, Facebook, Line, TikTok and Dcard.
The commission published the Guidelines on Complaint and Correction Mechanisms for Internet Service Users (網際網路服務使用者申訴及救濟機制指引) and the Guidelines on Transparency Reporting for Internet Service Users (網際網路服務使用者透明度報告指引) after 51.2 percent of respondents in a survey said they were dissatisfied with digital platforms’ replies to their complaints and correction requests, Office of Internet Communications Director Chen Mei-ching (陳美靜) said.
Photo: CNA
About 42 percent said digital platforms do not offer adequate correction mechanisms, while about 66 percent said such platforms are not transparent, Chen said.
The EU, UK, Australia, Singapore and Japan have required Internet service providers to file transparency reports and provide users with complaint and correction mechanisms, she said.
The two guidelines include evaluation criteria for digital platforms, she said.
The commission would evaluate digital platforms’ customer service based on whether they provide a complaint mechanism and clear instructions in traditional Chinese, recruit customer service personnel familiar with Taiwan’s history and culture, and inform users about their policies, Chen said.
They are also required to disclose criteria to review user-generated content, to develop mechanisms to protect users’ rights and prevent abuse, to abide by Taiwan’s laws, and to handle complaints within a reasonable time, she said.
The commission would also consider whether these platforms regularly update their measures to protect the users and their personal information, provide updates on how they handle complaints and whether they promote user literacy, she added.
“The NCC would also review whether they disclose government requests for partnerships and policies on user data and privacy. They should announce any major change in platform policies and mechanisms for multistakeholder collaboration,” she said.
The evaluation would be conducted during the second half of the year based on information disclosed by the five platforms, Chen said.
“After the evaluation, we would convene a meeting involving multiple stakeholders — including platform operators — to jointly comment on the results,” she said, adding that the results are scheduled to be released by the end of this year.
NCC Secretary-General Huang Wen-che (黃文哲) said that the guidelines are not laws and platforms would not be penalized if they do not follow them.
However, the guidelines reflect the public’s expectations for online platforms’ self-regulation.
“We are considering also evaluating Threads and X in the future,” Huang said.
NCC commissioners have not been able to rule in any case for 10 months, as they could not meet the quorum of four commissioners.
It currently has three commissioners.
However, the three commissioners held consultation meetings for 17,787 cases under the NCC’s purview in the past 10 months, 489 of which require final confirmation from the commissioners.
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