To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Safer Internet Day, ECPAT Taiwan hosted a news conference on 7th February, focusing on the subject of child online safety. ECPAT Taiwan invited Taiwanese legislators Wang Wan-yu, Wu Szu-Yao, Youth representatives Huang Pei-chi, Liang Chao-hsun, and Microsoft Digital Safety Lead-Asia, Madeline Shepherd, jointly participated in the news conference to share their perspectives on child online safety.


Liang Chao-hsun expressed his views on personal data breaches and the distribution of non-consensual intimate images (NCII), and emphasised the importance of "raising awareness of cybersecurity." Sending nude or intimate images in the heat of a moment might have unexpected long-lasting consequences, particularly when someone deliberately distributes or uses the images for sextortion purposes. This can cause significant distress and anxiety for the victim.

Huang Pei-chi mentioned that we should pay great attention to online safety, especially the issues related to "sexuality" in the digital world. Huang proposed that Taiwan's government should have more sex education courses or activities for adolescents to gain accurate and age-appropriate knowledge and skills to identify online sex-related risks.

Madeline Shepherd emphasised that Microsoft recognises their responsibility in keeping users safe on their services and contributing to building a safer online ecosystem. Microsoft has been cooperating with the Taiwanese government and civil society organisations such as ECPAT Taiwan to achieve this goal. "On Safer Internet Day, we are delighted to share the new Digital Safety Essentials website, which is available in Mandarin for our Taiwanese audience. This website shares practical tips for educators and students to improve online safety, dial up their security and practice civility online," Madeline said.

The legislature of Taiwan recently approved amendments to restrict the upload, distribution, and possession of NCII online while raising the penalty for child sexual exploitation in Taiwan. Legislator Wang Wan-yu said that the amendments to the law are not the end, but the beginning, and that drafting subsequent amendments and policies will be essential. Nevertheless, legislation is not the only way to mitigate the problem, she said, advocating for strengthening child online protection and education efforts from related government departments are also needed.

Legislator Wu Szu-Yao said that although Taiwan has passed the amendments to the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act, it is still necessary to supervise the effectiveness of the implementation and application of the law. During the law implementation process, there should be more involvement by judicial authorities, police administration, social welfare department, private sector, and civil groups, she said, calling for the importance of cultivating children's digital literacy and building their ability to avoid online safety threats.

In the face of ever-changing cyber risks, ECPAT Taiwan's Secretary-General Chen Yiling emphasized that we are responsible for creating a better digital world by being kind and respectful to others online and reporting any suspected illegal and harmful content. Through the web547 hotline and web885 helpline, ECPAT Taiwan can help remove intimate images shared online and assist/support the victims. ECPAT Taiwan has also cooperated with Microsoft Taiwan for many years to use the technology tool, including PhotoDNA, to help reduce the dissemination of images of victims. On the 20th anniversary of Internet Safety Day, we call on stakeholders to work together to build a safe Internet world and create a better Internet environment.


Learn more about ECPAT Taiwan here.