TIPO kills plan to block sites violating copyright

It said the move aimed at dispelling public concern the block would encroach on the Taiwanese people's freedom of speech.

TIPO announced on May 21 that it was considering changing regulations in order to block foreign websites that feature content which significantly infringes on copyrights. With TIPO approval and verification from the Justice Ministry, Internet service providers would have been required to block such websites.

The plan triggered outrage from members of the tech community and segments of the public.

At a press conference yesterday, TIPO Director-General Wang Mei-Hua (王美花) said that the policy will not be introduced.

In response to public concern that the plan may hinder freedom of speech and the distribution of information, Wang stressed that TIPO had no intention at all of challenging Taiwan's freedom of speech, which the nation fought so hard to obtain.

Wang denied suggestions that pressure from higher authorities caused the sudden change in policy. She said there will be adjustments to the government's policy, and more discussions will be held to decide if amendments will be made to the Copyright Act.

Now that executive agencies are not responsible for protecting content creators' intellectual property, the burden falls back onto Ministry of Justice. TIPO will talk with the ministry and consider how to further protect content creators' rights, including handling foreign websites that infringe on their intellectual property.

Wang did not provide a direct answer to the question of whether TIPO took netizen opinions into account seriously enough when contemplating the regulation. She said instead that whether or not netizens have exaggerated or overreacted over this issue she hopes that the public would not mistakenly believe TIPO had the intention of breaching Taiwan's freedom of speech.

Content creators can notify Internet service providers directly to block domestic websites that infringe on copyright, Wang said, adding that executive agencies would not play a role in this process.

If foreign websites are found to infringe on copyright, content creators must contact the justice department of foreign countries to file a lawsuit. This method, however, usually does not produce effective results, according to TIPO officials.

Source : The China Post