With the aim of signifying the combined efforts of the Taiwan and the Republic of Korea to combat online sex crimes, the National Communications Commission (NCC), Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW), and the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) signed a joint statement entitled, "Combating Digital Sex Crime Online" on May 3, 2024.
NCC has stated that due to its cross-border and real-time characteristics, the internet has become a core space and medium for exchanging information and opinions. However, it has also brought about various challenges pertaining to the dissemination of illegal content that governments urgently need to address. A matter of particular concern are the efforts to ensure the prevention of the dissemination of images of the sexual exploitation of minors and adult sexual images without consent; we can note that there is a high level of consensus both domestically and internationally on the need to address this issue.
Therefore, NCC, in collaboration with KCSC, which handles cases of illegal content on broadcasting and the internet in the Republic of Korea, and the MOHW, which is responsible for the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act, signed the joint statement with commitments on the following matters:
- Work together to raise awareness of the harmful effects caused by digital sex crime content and digital intimate images, including but not limited to the non-consensual sharing of intimate images (NCII) and deepfakes.
- Strengthen collaboration between our organizations by sharing insights and best practices.
- Promote greater international recognition of the need to end such abuse among government, the tech industry, and civil society.
NCC emphasized that this joint statement demonstrates global solidarity, with KCSC having signed similar agreements with Australia and France. NCC urges the global community to work towards curbing digital sex crimes and pledged to uphold the collaborative nature of the joint statement by deepening exchanges with KCSC and establishing a safer and more trustworthy online environment.
Photo 1: Joint Statement on Combating Digital Sex Crime Online by the NCC, MOHW and KCSC.
Photo 2: NCC Chairperson Chen Yaw-Shyang (center), MOHW Deputy Minister Lee Li-Feng (right) and KCSC Head of Digital Sex Crime Content Review Bureau Lee Dong-su (left)
Photo 3: NCC Chairperson Chen Yaw-Shyang (center), MOHW Deputy Minister Lee Li-Feng (right) and KCSC Head of Digital Sex Crime Content Review Bureau Lee Dong-su (left) exchange gifts.
Photo 4: Group photo of NCC Chairperson Chen Yaw-Shyang (center), MOHW Deputy Minister Lee Li-Feng (5th right), KCSC Head of Digital Sex Crime Content Review Bureau Lee Dong-su (5th left), KCSC Manager Park So-young (1st left), KCSC Division Director Seo Kyeong-won (2nd left), NCC Commissioner Wang Yi-Hui (3rd left), Commissioner Lin Lih-Yun (4th left), Commissioner Wang Jiang-Jia (4th right), Secretary General Huang Wen-Che (3rd right), MOHW Director-General Chang Hsiu-Yuan (2nd right), and MOFA Minister on Home Assignment Yen Chu-lien (1st right).
