CIB Sets Up Task Force to Crack Down on False Information|刑事局徵高手成立查緝假訊息小組

發布時間：2019/1/23 17:56 更新時間：2019/1/23 18:14

Jake Chen

In order to curb the spread of false information, Whatsapp, a messaging service owned by Facebook, has limited the number of times a message can be shared to five times. Taiwan's government has asked the police to step in to investigate the spread of false information. The Criminal Investigation Bureau has formed a task force with 50 tech experts in hopes to quickly catch and punish those who spread around false information.

The sharing of messages in WhatsApp will be limited from now on. The Facebook-owned company said it has adjusted the limit of the number of times a message can be spread to five times. The goal is to reduce the proportion of false information spreading on the platform. The issue has caused much headache to the internet sectors and governments. In Taiwan, the police has stepped in to investigate the spread of false information. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) has formed a task force with 50 tech experts in hopes to quickly catch and punish those who engage in such action.
(The team) comprised of about 50 people. Our goal is to enhance training and improve our capability to detect and defend against (the spread of false information).

The police has been actively investigating the spread of false information during last year's local elections. During the spread of African swine fever in recent weeks, some have posted photos of Hualien's dead pigs on the internet, claiming that Taiwan's quarantine system has loopholes. Some have questioned if the dead pig found on Kinmen's shore was staged by the government. The police is actively investigating on the source of these news.

During last year's local election, there were 146 cases of spreading false information, and 182 people were involved in those cases.

In order to prepare for the 2020 Presidential and Legislator Election, the CIB has set up a task force to further crack down on the spread of false information in hopes to prevent its effect on local elections.