Newsletter
New Law Requires Internet Operators and Telecom Carriers to Take Down Advertisements for Illegally Imported Commodities under Quarantine
New Law Requires Internet Operators and Telecom Carriers to Take Down Advertisements for Illegally Imported Commodities under Quarantine
The amendments to the Contagious Animal Diseases Prevention and Control Act (“Amended Act”) took effect on December 15, 2019. Article 38-3 of the Amended Act authorizes the entry-exit inspection and quarantine authorities (“IQAs”) to demand advertisers, platform providers, application service providers and/or telecom carriers to (i) add warnings necessary for raising awareness about epidemic prevention or quarantine; (ii) retain the personal data of advertisers, sellers or purchasers or periodically provide such data to IQAs; and/or (iii) restrict access to or remove any relevant web pages in accordance with the rules promulgated by the Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan (COA) while internet content involves the importation of commodities that are subject to mandatory inspection and quarantine (i.e., any objects that can spread animal disease pathogens, including animals’ corpses, bones, flesh, internal organs, fat, blood, fur, feathers and so on, “Commodities under Quarantine”) or any other quarantine-related matters. Pursuant to Paragraph 18, Article 45 of the Amended Act, if an advertiser, platform provider, application service provider or telecom carrier fails to comply with the above-mentioned requirements, the IQAs may impose an administrative fine between NT$ 30,000 and NT$ 150,000, and designate a time limit for such advertiser, platform provider, application service provider or telecom carrier to rectify the non-compliance. If such advertiser, platform provider, application service provider or telecom carrier fails to rectify the non-compliance within the time limit designated by the IQAs, the aforesaid administrative fine may be imposed consecutively until the non-compliance is rectified.
In light of the foregoing, on December 16, 2019, the COA promulgated the rules governing measures that should be adopted while internet content involves the importation of Commodities under Quarantine (“Rules”), which took effect retroactively on December 15, 2019. Points 3 to 5 of the Rules further provide that advertisers, platform providers and application service providers (collectively, “Internet Operators”) shall (i) check whether Commodities under Quarantine were legally imported when advertising such Commodities under Quarantine via the Internet (including, but not limited to, the web pages of online marketplaces for selling such Commodities under Quarantine); (ii) add warnings in a conspicuous location of such advertisements; and (iii) retain the personal data of advertisers, sellers and purchasers for a period of one year. If such Commodities under Quarantine were illegally imported, the Internet Operators should restrict access to or remove the relevant web pages. Internet Operators and telecom carriers shall also cooperate to restrict access to or remove advertisements for illegally imported Commodities under Quarantine upon receipt of the IQAs’ notification. It is worth noting the aforesaid “platform providers and application service providers” include all business operators that (i) establish websites for offering storage space or (ii) sell products or provide information, value-added services, linking services, streaming services or any other digital communications and broadcasting services through internet platforms. In other words, almost all internet-related operators would be subject to the obligations mentioned above.
Except for similar provisions of the Children’s and Youths’ Welfare and Rights Protection Act, this is the first time that the Taiwan law specifically authorizes the competent authority to demand internet operators and telecom carriers to take down certain internet content. It is worth observing how the IQAs require domestic telecom carriers to restrict access to or remove relevant internet content if the Internet Operator concerned is located outside of Taiwan or refuses to take down such internet content, especially considering that the Taiwan government is seeking an effective way to address the issue of fake news.