By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter
Telecoms are to be ordered to suspend Internet transmission for large online platforms and other digital intermediary services if they commit substantial legal offenses without taking corrective action, the National Communications Commission said yesterday.
The commission conducted an information session regarding the digital intermediary service draft act attended by representatives of telecoms, multiple system operators, the Taiwan Network Information Center (TWNIC) and Cable Broadband Institute of Taiwan (CBIT).
The draft act would not require intermediary service providers to do anything that is technically impossible, NCC Planning Department Director Wang De-wei said.
The draft act, which is based on the EU’s Digital Service Act, would categorize large online platform operators with 2.3 million or more service subscribers in Taiwan as “designated intermediary service providers,” and require them to follow obligations set by the commission, Wang said.
Service providers failing to meet the obligations would be subject to ongoing fines until the contraventions cease, and telecoms could be ordered to stop transmitting signals to the platforms if substantial legal offenses are involved, he said.
“Cutting off intermediary service providers’ access to Internet transmission is a major reprimand, although it would not be our first option. The commission would take such action only when a service provider commits a serious offense,” Wang said.
TWNIC CEO Kenny Huang said that the draft act should regulate regional Internet registries, in addition to service providers and intermediary service providers.
“The draft act stipulates that stakeholders can request the district court to issue an emergency restraining order within 48 hours to stop the transmission of illegal content. However, if a very urgent matter is involved, they should be able to ask the court to issue an emergency restraining order within four hours, as in cases of domestic violence,” he said, adding that the commission would need to negotiate enforcement with the Ministry of Justice.
Huang also said that the commission should reconsider the criteria of 2.3 million subscribers to define a designated digital intermediary service provider, as Taiwan’s digital service market is smaller than the EU’s.
Most Internet service providers are access providers, which do not track the sites their users visit, and they cannot remove or restrict Internet access and store data, CBIT CEO Claudia Pen said, adding that the commission should divide providers into categories with separate obligations.
Wang said that the commission could review standards it sets for digital intermediary service providers, but large platform operators should be held accountable for the public’s actions on their services.
“They are responsible for illegal content circulating on their platforms. The user agreements should not be so powerful as to impede free speech, nor should they enable only a few fake accounts to dominate the platforms,” Wang said.
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