The Legislature on Tuesday approved several bill amendments aimed at curbing the spread of illegal images and video of sexual assault on Internet platforms, while raising the penalty for child pornography in Taiwan.
According to amendments to the Sexual Assault Crime Prevention Act, Internet service providers are now required have a mechanism in place to immediately remove illegal images and video of sexual assault from their webpage content.
The law stipulates that those failing to do so can be fined NT$60,000 to NT$600,000 (US$1,969-US$19,693).
Internet service providers are also required to keep online databases with information on crimes and criminals as well as the personal data and Internet user records of suspected criminals for up to 180 days, according to the amended bill.
The purpose is be to facilitate judicial and police investigations.
In addition, victims of sexual violence cannot be identified or their names published in news reports by media outlets, with violations also subject to a fine ranging from NT$60,000-NT$600,000.
The crime prevention act also stipulates that city and county governments should establish a sexual assault prevention center, or establish one as part of an existing domestic violence prevention center.
Regarding amendments to the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act, the bill raises the punishment for those convicted of filming a child or youth engaging in sexual intercourse or obscene acts, or producing images, video or other objects that show such acts through recruitment, seduction, or other means, from the current 3-7 years in prison to 3-10 years, including a fine of no more than NT$3 million.
Under the amendment, anyone who distributes or shows others images, video or any other format that depicts a child or youth engaging in sexual intercourse or obscene acts is subject to 1-7 years in prison, up from the current no more than three years. Such penalties also include a maximum fine of NT$5 million.
Anyone in possession of sexually explicit photos or video of a child or youth, with no reasonable explanation, faces up to one year in prison, according to the revised bill.
Also similar to the amended Sexual Assault Crime Prevention Act, Internet service providers are required to have a mechanism in place to immediately remove explicit photos or video of a child or youth engaging in sexual intercourse or obscene acts from their webpage content.
They must also keep online databases with information on crimes and criminals as well as the personal data and Internet user records of suspected criminals for up to 180 days, or face a fine of NT$60,000-NT$600,000.
Tuesday’s passage of the amended Sexual Assault Crime Prevention Act and the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act came just days after amendments to the Crime Victim Protection Act and the Criminal Code cleared the legislative floor on Jan. 7.
Draft amendments to the four laws were proposed after the arrest in 2021 of a Taiwanese YouTuber suspected of creating and selling deepfake pornographic videos featuring more than 100 public figures, and the “Nth Room” case in South Korea, involving the spread of sexually exploitative videos via the Telegram app between 2018-2020.
Both cases caused widespread public concern in Taiwan.
The draft amendments were approved by the Cabinet in March last year.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel