TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Cabinet has banned TikTok in its buildings and is coordinating with Taiwan's other top governing bodies on implementing a ban on the contentious Chinese-owned social media app.
On Dec. 5, news broke that the Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) banned TikTok from public sector devices, including mobile phones, tablets, and computers. Li Meng-yen (李孟諺), Secretary-General of the Cabinet, on Monday (Dec. 12) stated that the Cabinet will coordinate with the Legislative Yuan, Examination Yuan, and other branches of government on implementing the ban and said that civil servants will be punished in accordance with the relevant regulations if they violate the law.
The Internal Administration Committee of the Legislative Yuan on Monday invited Li and Cabinet spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) to attend and report on the Cabinet's 2023 policy plan and budget and field questions. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lo Mei-ling (羅美玲) asked if, in addition to the Cabinet, steps are being taken to coordinate the ban with the Legislative Yuan and Examination Yuan.
In response, Li said that Chinese audio-visual platforms have launched many attacks, propaganda campaigns, and disinformation in Taiwan. In addition to requesting the public departments of ministries and commissions under the Cabinet to prohibit this platform, the Cabinet has also invited other governing bodies and commissions to discuss countermeasures to be taken against TikTok.
The legislator pointed out that TikTok and Xiaohongshu can still be viewed on the internet from the Legislative Yuan and criticized the situation as "one country, many systems." Li responded that each "Yuan" (branch of government) has its own powers and responsibilities and pledged that the Cabinet will continue to communicate with the Legislative Yuan, Examination Yuan, and others with the hopes that they will also restrict TikTok.
When asked by the lawmaker whether public servants' work phones can access TikTok, Lo said that the scope of the ban includes mobile phones used for official business by civil servants. He said that phones are currently inspected individually for the prohibited app.
Lo stated that if there is a more efficient way to block TikTok, such as using a technical process to block the app within the scope of a local area network, the task force will discuss ways of implementing it.
In terms of the legal system, whether apps such as TikTok that endanger national security can be dealt with in the same way as India or other countries, will require more discussion.
Legislator Chuang Jui-hsiung (莊瑞雄) then asked about Lo's opinion on whether the ban on TikTok should be expanded beyond the public sector to private citizens. Lo responded by saying that Chinese-made apps seriously impact information security because they require real-name registration that includes detailed personal information and the apps have agreements with the Chinese government to provide information to government officials unconditionally.
Lo warned that this enables the Chinese government to obtain personal information and private activities, presenting a very high risk to personal security. However, Lo acknowledged that there are certain rights that consumers have, such as freedom of speech, and that it may be necessary to revise the law to ban TikTok from general consumers.
When drafting new regulations, he said that it would be necessary to refer to the practices of other countries, such as India. He emphasized that an outright ban on TikTok for the general population will have to be both technically and legally feasible, but because China's cognitive warfare is particularly serious, Taiwan must be more vigilant and consider stronger measures.
