As a result of rapid developments in information and communication technology, digital transformation is becoming more prominent in our everyday lives, improving our social well-being and quality of life, and contributing to organizational efficiency and effectiveness. Understandably, the rapid pace of digital development often presents a challenge to traditional thinking and practices by industry and government. However, resisting the inevitability of digital development is not the answer. Rather, it is important to capture the benefits that can be gained from innovation, while enhancing digital literacy to ensure that no elements of society feel left behind. Through constructive dialogue, all stakeholders can be empowered with relevant knowledge to dare to dream and take advantage of paradigm shifts. The possibilities of seeing the world differently will be critical for Taiwan society today and in future generations.
The Digital Economy Committee, established last year, represents industry interests in the intersection of digital innovation and economic advancement. Collectively, we contribute broad global insights from having seen how fast-evolving digital economies and data-driven innovations can bring exciting opportunities to society and the economy when supported by receptive government policies. We look forward to direct and meaningful communications with the Taiwan government to build a digital future together.
Fortunately, the Taiwan government already understands the importance of digital transformation as a way to better its citizens’ lives. The recent response to the COVID-19 outbreak, for example, is a great example of digital tools playing an important role in aiding the community with basic services. This approach was most evident early on with the success of the “Instant Mask Map,” an innovation that has impressed many other countries.
One of the most important pillars behind this success was the role of Minister without Portfolio Audrey Tang, widely known as Taiwan’s “Digital Minister,” in coordinating civic involvement, digital technology, and government data. But the office of a Minister without Portfolio is not equipped with the personnel and resources needed to support digital transformation during the vital early stages of policy development across various ministries and agencies. As a result, the consistency in policy matters that industry expects in a truly digital-friendly environment has not been achieved. For this reason, the Committee recommended in last year’s White Paper that a high-level authority be established under the Executive Yuan to provide planning and guidance for the transformation to a new economy, and we have been pleased to hear that progress is occurring on that front.
Besides the suggestions presented below, the Committee would like to voice our support for the Telecommunication & Media Committee’s suggestion to maintain a light-touch regulatory environment of OTT TV services. Please refer to the Telecom Committee’s paper for details.
Suggestion 1: Establish guidelines to encourage government agencies to promote digital approaches.
The Committee was truly excited by President Tsai’s pledge – made during her speech to the Future Tech Exposition (Futex) last December – to set up a dedicated agency to coordinate Taiwan’s digital developments, better manage the digital economy, create reasonable market competition, and allow digitalization to flourish. We look forward to the establishment of this agency and to being able to work closely with it to promote Taiwan’s embracing of the digital age.
Recognizing that the legislative process to create such an agency may take time, we would like to raise some ideas for ways to support digital transformation in the meantime. Such policy stop-gaps could ease the transition, while also relieving certain current tensions in Taiwan regarding the digital economy, especially from international partners.
The OECD’s working paper entitled “Going Digital Integrated Policy Framework” captures key concepts for digital integration and could serve as a useful benchmark for the Taiwan government in examining its policies on digital integration. Important strategic principles, such as having effective coordination, articulating a strategic vision, assessing digital trends and policies, and enabling an inclusive strategy development with international partners are all crucial insights that could inform Taiwan’s consideration of the future digital economy agency.
The Committee cautions against allowing this agency to become just another regulator or competent authority for particular industries. Given its position under the Executive Yuan, the agency should play a major role in coordinating inter-agency dialogue and providing planning and guidance for the transformation to the new economy.
Until a dedicated agency can start operating, we urge the current government ministries and agencies to consider the following recommendations:
- Set measurable benchmarks to track progress on digital transformation. Each government agency may set periodic short-term goals and assess whether it has hit certain milestones towards digital transformation. This process will help prevent a communication gap from arising between industry and government and will serve to enhance Taiwan’s competitiveness by bringing consistent digitalization results. Both industry and government will benefit from indicators tracking progress in digitization.
- Require digital literacy training for government officials. Digital literacy is vital for a digital society to thrive. Given the speed of digital innovation today, a concerted effort to understand new digital trends and digital applications is needed across different levels of government administrators and officials.
- Include a digital impact assessment report for all relevant policies of ministries and agencies, to be shared with industry stakeholders. Whether assessing new policies or amending existing policies, relevant ministries and agencies should include a digital impact assessment report to determine how the policy furthers digitalization goals. We recommend that the report periodically be shared with industry to enhance communication and enable issues to be tackled together as partners. The goal is to ensure that laws and regulations are updated in an accurate and meaningful manner that supports digital development in Taiwan.
Suggestion 2: Help startups and innovative businesses to flourish in Taiwan by building an environment that favors competition, attracts investment, and nurtures talent.
Since taking office in 2016, the Tsai administration has emphasized the need for Taiwan to speed up its digital transformation and build itself into a “startup nation.” The government has undertaken various initiatives to support startups, focusing so far mainly on funding the ecosystem and helping companies kickstart their businesses. While the Committee is pleased to see such government support for local startups, much more needs to be done. We propose prioritizing the following three categories:
- Deregulation: The Committee appreciates the work of the Regulatory Adjustment Center under the National Development Council (NDC). Moving forward, however, we encourage the government to take an even more proactive approach by reaching out directly to industry stakeholders, studying international best practices, facilitating inter-agency dialogue, and – perhaps most importantly – emphasize deregulation rather than introducing more regulations.
- Increase public and private investment in startups: For the government alone to invest in startups is insufficient. To catch up with countries like Israel, Estonia, and Singapore, Taiwan needs to set ambitious total investment targets in startups. Steady growth can be expected when the government sets an annual target for start-up investments based on a given percentage of GDP.
- Attract and nurture talent: Revamp Taiwan’s labor policies, immigration laws, and the University Act to optimize use of the national pool of talent.
We urge the Taiwan government to embrace a long-term mindset with short-term deliverables, bearing in mind that an innovative environment relies on competition, investment, and talent.
Suggestion 3: Commit to multi-stakeholder collaboration to support the news ecosystem and defend against digital disinformation.
Disinformation is an issue that affects the whole of society. While online intermediaries and platforms play an important role by supporting journalistic quality and countering malicious actors who abuse the internet, collaboration among stakeholders in the news ecosystem is also crucial, particularly for fact-checking and promoting media literacy. While recognizing that free speech has its boundaries – for example when it comes to illegal, harmful, and other sensitive topics such as child abuse – attempts to control, regulate, investigate, or silence the content of communications should in general be viewed as negatively impacting users’ freedom of expression, freedom of association, and the right to privacy.
Over the past few years, members of the digital industry have developed a range of internal policies and usage guidelines to discourage and deal with problematic content appearing on their platforms. In addition, internet companies have increasingly adopted voluntary measures to increase digital and media literacy in Taiwan through partnerships with relevant government ministries and civic organizations. The results are clear. During the past year, Taiwan’s fact-checking organizations have grown and matured into an important ally in fighting disinformation domestically and internationally, as evidenced by their participation in global fact-checking collaborations regarding COVID-19-related news and their efforts during Taiwan’s 2020 Presidential election campaign. This ecosystem has come into being due to an important factor: instead of resorting to legislation, the Taiwan government committed to a non-legislative approach that allows the fact-checking community to operate independently – with an understanding that, in parallel, trusted internet and news businesses will continue to actively pursue sensible solutions to the problem of disinformation.
The government plays a dual role as both rule maker and strategic partner and supporter. In many scenarios, self-regulation with government guidance has proven to be more efficient in facilitating innovation than imposing hasty regulations or restrictions. We ask the Taiwan government to continue to trust and support the resiliency of the current ecosystem that encourages public-private partnerships, promotes a multi-stakeholder approach, protects freedom of expression and due process, and allows international best practice for the industry to be woven into the fabric of Taiwan society, with effective results in practice.
Recommendations:
- Ensure the integrity of the current ecosystem, keeping it free of censorship and repression. The existing voluntary, censorship-free approach is the collective effort of multiple stakeholders and has been effective. The government should continue to refrain from resorting to coercive and repressive measures that inevitably impinge on free speech. As a free and democratic society, it is important for Taiwan to honor the Manila Principles for Intermediary Liability, a set of guidelines on censorship and take-down regulations that was established by an international consortium of NGOs and is now widely accepted as a global standard. For instance, the second principle states that intermediaries must not be required to restrict content unless an order has been issued by an independent and impartial judicial authority that has determined the material at issue to be unlawful. Among the other principles are the doctrines that content restriction orders must comply with the tests of necessity and proportionality, and that requests for restrictions of content must be clear and follow due process.
- Give Taiwan a chance to become a regional champion in fighting disinformation. The robust mechanisms that Taiwan’s independent fact-checking organizations have set up to verify news and counter disinformation showed their worth in the past year during a peaceful election period and the transparent and proactive response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout it all, the digital industry has stood up for Taiwan’s democracy by fighting disinformation. This Committee hopes that Taiwan’s will play an important role in the regional fact-checking network, strengthening the role of civil society in Taiwan and across the region under a sensible ecosystem that obviates any need for government intervention.
Suggestion 4: Consider the differing characteristics among digital-services and e-commerce platforms before imposing regulatory obligations.
The advent of the digital economy has transformed our lives and societies at unprecedented speed and scale, sparking immense opportunities as well as challenges. Considering the vital role played by government as policy- and rule-maker to create a stable and secure environment, we greatly appreciate the Taiwan government’s efforts to collaborate with stakeholders to seek appropriate solutions. However, a one-size-fits-all regulatory model cannot accommodate the ever-changing types of digital platforms. We have been concerned by cases in which the government has resorted to legislative action before paying sufficient attention to the complexities involved in the digital economy.
One such example was the recently amended Statute for Prevention and Control of Infectious Animal Disease, where the authority imposed an obligation on all advertisers, e-commerce platforms, and application service businesses to inspect internet content and products that are subject to importation and quarantine controls. While we appreciate the government’s good intentions in seeking to combat the African swine fever virus, the authorities did not distinguish among the various platform before implementing across-the-board regulations.
For example, the Statute holds all advertisers responsible for product inspection, but not all platforms possess the ability to verify that every product meets the quarantine restrictions. The law also requires the posting of excessive warning notices. The amendment was made without consulting with industry, and industry’s feedback after the amendment was made was also ignored. The result was to place an unnecessary burden and impractical compliance responsibility on platforms.
The above is but one recent example of many similar cases. In areas including internet governance and disinformation prevention, the authorities tend to take this one-size-fits-all regulatory model. We remind the authorities of the differences between the role of digital platforms as opposed to actual providers of goods and services. Applying the same regulatory framework to both can only lead to impractical restrictions on platforms, creating difficulties for everyone involved – consumers, platforms, providers of goods and services, and even government agencies. We strongly encourage the Taiwan government to convene multi-stakeholder meetings to provide an opportunity for ample communication before taking regulatory or legislative actions. Such dialogue will also ensure respect for transparency and due process.
由於資訊和通信技術的極速發展,數位轉型在我們的日常生活中越益重要,不只改善我們的社會福祉和生活品質,並也有助於組織的效率和成效。可以理解的是,數位化發展的快速步伐,通常挑戰產業和政府的傳統思維和作法。但是,消極面對必然到來的數位化發展並不適當。相反地,應著眼於擁抱創新所能帶來的利益,同時增強數位素養,以確保在數位轉型的路程上社會上的任何成員都不至被遺忘。我們相信,透過建設性對話,所有利益相關者都可以被賦予有利此轉型的能力及知識,進而利用典範轉移勇於逐夢。對於當今和未來的台灣社會而言,以不同眼光看待世界的可能性至關重要。
去年成立的數位經濟委員會代表所有在數位創新與經濟發展交彙處的產業。我們瞭解快速發展的數位經濟和以數據為驅動的創新,在政府政策支持下,可以為社會和經濟帶來令人振奮的機遇,並貢獻我們的宏觀洞察。我們期待與台灣政府進行直接且有意義的交流,一起打造數位未來。
幸運的是,台灣政府已經充分瞭解數位轉型改善國民生活的重要性,最近對COVID-19疫情的回應就是很好的例子,展現了數位工具在幫助社群提供基本服務的重要作用。「口罩地圖」的早期成功就極為明顯,此創新方法給許多其他國家留下了深刻的印象。
政務委員唐鳳在協調公民參與、數位技術和政府數據方面的努力,是成功背後最重要的支柱之一,而唐政務委員被廣泛稱為台灣的「數位部長」。但是,行政院政務委員辦公室似不具備足夠的人員及資源,支持各部會在數位轉型關鍵成形階段時的各項政策發展。從而,產業界所期待在數位友善環境中應具有的政策一致性,仍待達成。因此,本委員會在去年的白皮書中建議在行政院下設立一個高階機關,就新經濟的轉型提供計劃和指導,而我們欣見政府在這方面正取得進展。
除了以下提出的建議之外,本委員會也支持「電信及媒體委員會」就保持OTT電視服務輕度監管環境建議的支持。詳情請參閱電信委員會的「建議四:影音串流平台應維持輕度管制的方式管理。」
建議一:建立鼓勵政府機關提升數位素養的指導原則
我們欣見蔡政府呼應台北市美國商會2019年白皮書的建議,在2019年12月未來科技展提出了成立數位發展專責機關的政策,以優化管理數位經濟,創造合理的市場競爭,並促進數位科技蓬勃發展。我們非常期待數位發展部會的成立,並希望積極與主管機關密切合作,協助台灣社會轉型,擁抱數位經濟時代。
我們理解立法設立數位專責機關仍需要時間推動,因此我們希望提出呼應數位轉型的建言,以利緩解政策發展的過渡期,同時也緩解台灣目前來自國際夥伴等數位經濟層面的緊張局勢。
這個專責的機關,必須積極建立一個安全、自由、民主的網路公民社會,也應該主動參考並參與建立經濟合作暨發展組織 (OECD) 所提出的國際網路治理標準《Going Digital Integrated Policy Framework》,此標準涵蓋數位整合關鍵概念,可做為台灣政府對數位整合的有效檢核基準。重點策略原則包含:進行有效的協調、闡明政策願景、評估數位趨勢和政策,以及與國際合作夥伴偕同促進廣泛策略發展等,都是至關重要的見解,相信能夠做為台灣對未來數位發展專責機關框架組成之參考。
本委員會認為,此專責機關不應同時兼具監理權責,且為非單一產業主管機關。基於此專責機關直屬於行政院,其應具備跨部會協調、整合功能,以利台灣數位經濟的轉型發展。
在這個專責數位發展的單位成立前,本委員會敦促既有政府部會應思考下列建議:
- 制定可量化量測的數位轉型指標。為達成數位轉型,應展開自我量測並設定滾動式短期目標。此過程將能拉近產業以及政府溝通之距離,並透過持續的數位化進程,帶動台灣的競爭力。不管是政府或產業,都能夠從此數位轉型指標在過程中獲益良多。
- 要求並提升政府官員數位素養(digital literacy)。數位素養對於數位社會之繁榮至關重要。為因應數位創新之速度,當務之急為幫助跨部會之各級官員理解數位趨勢以及數位應用。
- 針對各部會之相關政策與法規,建立數位衝擊評估報告,並與產業利害關係者溝通分享。無論是評估新政策或是修訂現行法規,相關部會應當提供數位衝擊報告,以確定政策如何能導向數位化目標。本委員會希冀政府亦能定期與產業利害關係者定期分享此報告,以利雙方溝通並協同合作解決相關議題。此建議立意為確保法規能緊密支持台灣數位發展。
建議二:政府應致力建造鼓勵競爭、吸引投資以及孕育人才的環境,促進新創與創新事業在台灣蓬勃發展
自 2016 年起,在蔡英文總統領導下,政府一再強調加速產業數位轉型、形塑「新創國家」對台灣的重要性。政府亦已推出多項支持新創事業之計畫,現階段仍以為新創生態系挹注資金協助創業者邁出第一步為主。本委員會欣見政府對本地新創事業的支持,也期盼未來有更多作為。我們認為以下三個範疇應該獲得優先考量:
- 法規鬆綁:本委員會高度認同目前國家發展委員會法制協調中心工作,我們持續期盼,並且鼓勵政府採取更加積極的作為,例如:直接主動徵詢產業界利害關係人、研究他國法規與最佳解方、促進政府間跨部會橫向溝通等。其中,可能最為重要的一項即是 —— 強調應以「法規鬆綁」取代「更多規範」。
- 增加公私部門對新創事業之投資:單靠政府投資新創事業是不足的,台灣若要擠身以色列、愛沙尼雅、新加坡等國之列,必須為新創產業制定出更具有企圖心的投資目標。政府若可以達到每年 GDP 的一定比例作為新創事業投資的判定準則,我們即可預見新創產業穩健的成長。
- 吸引、孕育人才:重新擘劃台灣的勞動政策、移民法規以及《大學法》,優化國家人才庫。
我們呼籲台灣政府以長遠思維搭配短期可達成目標,且勿忘競爭、投資及人才為創新環境的基石。
建議三:透過多方利害關係人合作,支持新聞生態系運作並打擊數位不實訊息
不實訊息影響整體社會環境。儘管網際網路中間人(intermediaries)與平台業者已持續透過提升新聞品質,同時打擊濫用網路的惡意行為者,發揮重大作用,新聞生態系中的多方利害關係人合作仍至關重要,尤其對於推廣事實查核及提升媒體素養。在充分理解言論自由有其界限的情況下(例如:涉及非法、有害及兒童虐待等特定敏感議題),試圖對於內容的傳遞進行管制、規範、調查或禁止,均應普遍被視為負面影響使用者的表達自由、結社自由及隱私權利。
近幾年,數位產業的各個成員多已制定一系列內部政策與使用規範,用以反制及處理其平台上出現的問題內容。此外,網路業者亦與相關政府部門及公民組織建立夥伴關係,在台灣主動推動提升數位素養及媒體識讀各項措施。成果相當顯著-過去一年中,台灣的事實查核組織已成為打擊境內外不實訊息的要角之一,從參與COVID-19相關新聞的全球性事實查核協力,與2020年台灣總統選舉的積極作為,都可看出台灣事實查核組織所擔任的重要角色。上述生態系的成功發展,來自一項重要因素:相較立法,台灣政府選擇採取非立法途徑,提供事實查核社群一個得以獨立運作的環境,並理解,與此同時,具良好信譽的網路平台及新聞業者將持續積極探尋對於不實訊息議題的合理解決辦法。
政府同時扮演著規則制定者、策略夥伴及支持者的關鍵角色。過去諸多先例證明,納入政府也認同的自律模式,相較倉促的立法規範或限制,更有效孕育創新的解決方案。現今的生態系運作鼓勵公共部門與民間組織間的協力合作、推廣納入多方利害關係人參與討論,保護言論自由與正當法律程序,促使國際最佳實務經驗得以融入台灣社會,並已獲得有效成果,在此,我們建請並期待台灣政府一如以往的持續提供信任與支持。
建議事項:
- 確保得以維持現今生態環境的完整性,使其言論不經審查及抑制。現今採取自願性機制及非強制審查的自律方法,是多方利害關係人間共同努力的成果,並已取得相當成效。本委員會誠摯建請政府持續支持此類做法,避免使用恐影響台灣言論自由的強制或壓制性措施。作為一個自由民主的社會,台灣應履行《馬尼拉中介者責任原則》,該準則為國際非政府組織共同制定的內容審查及刪除規範,現已被廣泛接受為全球標準。舉例而言,第二項原則規定,除非獨立且公正的司法機關發布命令,認定爭議內容屬非法,否則不得要求中間人對內容進行限制。其他原則包括內容限制命令須符合必要性及比例原則檢驗,以及內容限制須提出清楚明確的請求,並遵循正常程序等。
- 使台灣有機會成為打擊不實訊息的區域領袖。台灣獨立的第三方事實查核組織為查證新聞及對抗不實訊息所建立的完善機制,於年初和平落幕的總統大選及對抗COVID-19疫情採取公開透明、積極應對的各項措施時,已證明其價值。由始至終,數位產業亦站上前線一同打擊不實訊息,捍衛台灣民主。本委員會期望台灣將在事實查核組織的區域性合作中,扮演關鍵角色,加強公民社會在台灣乃至整體地區所發揮的作用,讓已成形的完善生態系,在即便無任何政府公權力介入之下,仍可持續健全運作。
建議四:政府在制定法律規則前,應明辨數位服務平台、電子商務平台之特性
數位經濟的來臨以前所未有的速度和規模改變我們的生活方式和社會型態,也引發巨大的機遇與挑戰。考量政府在創建一個穩定並安全的環境中所扮演重要的政策及規則制定者的角色,我們由衷感謝台灣政府與利害關係人合作並尋求各種解決方案的努力。但「一體適用」的法規模式已無法適用於變化多端的數位平台型態,這也使我們注意到許多政府在並未充分了解數位經濟的複雜性前就採取立法行動的情況。
舉例而言,在近期修訂「動物傳染病防治條例」的過程中,主管機關賦予廣告、電子商務及應用服務業者須檢查受進口、隔離管制之網路內容及商品的責任。儘管我們理解政府防治非洲豬瘟的立意良善,但主管機關在法規全面施行前並未明辨各個平台之差異。
具體而言,條例中賦予廣告業者檢查產品之責任,但並非所有平台都具有檢查產品是否符合檢疫規範的能力,並強制要求過多的警示文字。條例的修法過程中政府並未詢問業界的意見,而在條例修正公布後,業界的意見也遭到忽略,最後為平台帶來不必要的負擔與不切實際的合規責任。
上述僅為近期類似案件中之一例,政府在包括網路治理、不實訊息防治等領域都傾向此類「一體適用」的法規模式。本委員會在此提醒主管機關,數位平台與實際提供貨品或服務的業者有其差異。若欲以相同的法規框架規管兩者,只會為平台帶來不切實際的限制,並對所有關係人 – 包括消費者、平台、提供貨品或服務的業者、甚至政府機關 – 造成困擾。我們強烈建議政府在監管或採取立法措施前能透過多方利害關係人會議強化溝通,並藉此確保對透明度及正當程序之重視。
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