Where do you get your news? An increasing number of people are turning to social media and even emerging video platforms for their news sources. This trend is especially prominent among the 18-24 age group. However, trust in the media ranks among the lowest globally, coming in fourth from the bottom. In this age of information overload, where it is difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood, the influence of algorithms and digital communication platforms has even led to cybercrime and online violence. How should we define the boundaries of the internet? And how can we build a healthy and comprehensive digital environment?

 

Host：Ethan Liu

Speakers：
Johnny Yu, CEO of TWNIC (Taiwan Network Information Center)
Yi-Feng Huang, CEO of iWIN (Institute of Watch Internet Network)

Meeting Minutes

“Multi-Stakeholder Governance ＆ Creating a Safe Digital Environment Together”

The Inseparable Connection Between the Internet and Modern Life

In today’s digital age, the internet has become an indispensable part of modern life, from social media interactions to multimedia content consumption. Due to this dependency, issues like cybercrime, cyber violence, and sexual exploitation have become increasingly serious. The proliferation of these criminal activities has forced society to consider how to establish reasonable internet governance standards and create a healthy and safe digital environment.

These internet safety issues concern not only adults but are particularly crucial for the healthy development of children and adolescents. The host emphasizes that many parents and educators are concerned about protecting children from negative influences in the online world, which is one of the core topics discussed in today’s program.

 

Introduction to Key Organizations

CEO Jofan Yu of TWNIC describes their crucial role in Taiwan’s internet management and information security. She introduces TWNIC’s main functions, emphasizing their responsibility for managing the “.tw” domain name, with operations directly affecting every internet user in Taiwan. Through managing Taiwan’s domain names and IP addresses, TWNIC plays a vital role in ensuring internet stability and operation.

 

CEO Yi-Feng Huang of iWIN explains that his organization primarily focuses on handling inappropriate and unsuitable online content, especially protecting minors online. iWIN’s functions cover monitoring, handling, and intercepting harmful content, working with major platforms to ensure such content is quickly removed or blocked.

 

Challenges of Internet Governance and the Importance of Multi-stakeholder Collaboration

 

While everyone hopes for a healthy, well-maintained internet environment, achieving this goal faces numerous challenges. Internet governance involves multiple stakeholders, including government, businesses, civil society organizations, and ordinary users. These different parties have their own positions, objectives, and interests, making it difficult to reach consensus when establishing internet governance standards.

 

TWNIC CEO Jofan Yu mentions that internet operation is supported by multiple components, including Internet Service Providers (ISPs), IP address resolution, and browser technical support. If any component fails, users may not be able to connect to websites successfully. This illustrates the complexity of internet governance, involving not just technical aspects but also coordination across policy, management, and legal frameworks.

 

iWIN CEO Yi-Feng Huang shares iWIN’s work experience, emphasizing the urgency of internet content governance. He describes iWIN as the “emergency room” of the internet world, taking swift action to remove or block inappropriate content when it appears. Children and adolescents are among the main victims of cybercrime, making internet content protection mechanisms crucial in protecting them from cyber violence and sexual exploitation.

 

The Spread of Misinformation and the Crisis of Trust

With the rise of the internet, the speed and scope at which misinformation spreads have drastically increased. TWNIC CEO Jofan Yu shared findings from an annual report conducted by TWNIC. This report surveyed the public’s awareness and response to misinformation in Taiwan. The report shows that while television remains the main source of news for many, the prevalence of misinformation on the internet has significantly eroded trust in online content. According to the survey, the public increasingly lacks confidence in their ability to discern the truth in news, and this trend has notably risen over the past decade. The proliferation of social media and other online platforms has made the issue of misinformation a significant challenge in modern society, with many people expressing growing skepticism toward content found on social media.

iWIN CEO Yi-Feng Huang added that misinformation poses a particularly severe threat to children and adolescents, as they often lack the capacity to distinguish between true and false information, making them more susceptible to being misled. To address this, iWIN not only monitors online content but also regularly holds discussions with various stakeholders to establish self-regulatory standards and works with platforms to expedite the process of identifying and removing misinformation.

 

Protecting Children and the Responsibility of Parents

When discussing the protection of children, iWIN CEO Yi-Feng Huang emphasized that parents play a crucial role in managing their children’s internet usage. Given that children and adolescents are introduced to mobile phones and the internet at a young age, it is difficult for parents to fully restrict their online activities. Rather than focusing solely on the amount of time children spend online, parents should pay closer attention to the content their children are engaging with. Huang recommends that parents familiarize themselves with what their children are doing online and take advantage of parental control features offered by platforms to filter inappropriate content. Platform providers, in turn, should bear social responsibility by implementing protective measures, such as setting age restrictions and blocking harmful content.

In addition to content monitoring, Huang highlighted the importance of encouraging children to cultivate other interests, which can effectively reduce their dependence on the internet and prevent them from becoming overly absorbed in online activities.

When children encounter inappropriate content or experience cybercrime, parents should encourage them to speak up instead of reprimanding or punishing them. Huang pointed out that harsh punishment can cause “secondary harm,” making children even more reluctant to seek help. Therefore, parents and teachers should create a safe and open environment where children feel comfortable facing problems and seeking timely support.

 

Collaborative Model of Multiple Stakeholders

Since 2017, iWIN has held quarterly meetings with platform operators, scholars, government representatives, and civil society groups to discuss self-regulation standards for online content and develop processes for handling issues. This collaborative model has significantly improved the efficiency of dealing with misinformation and harmful content, allowing platforms to respond quickly and take appropriate action. Through these multi-stakeholder meetings, consensus has been reached on how to handle over 3,000 complaints from the public each year, with approximately 80% compliance from domestic platforms and around 70% compliance from international platforms.

 

TWNIC CEO Jofan Yu noted that Taiwan has a thriving civil society and platforms that facilitate dialogue among stakeholders with diverse viewpoints, a strength that many other countries lack. This advantage fosters the implementation of a multi-stakeholder governance model, which, through regular surveys, provides insight into Taiwanese internet users’ behaviors and opinions on internet-related issues. Survey results show that while public awareness of misinformation is increasing, the ability to identify it still needs improvement. Yu called for the government, businesses, and civil society to jointly participate in internet governance, working toward the creation of a healthier online environment. In the future, Taiwan can continue in this direction, developing internet governance policies that are acceptable to all.

 

Legal Framework and Enforcement of Internet Governance

iWIN CEO Yi-Feng Huang noted that there are gray areas in the legal framework governing online content. For instance, some content may not be illegal but is still inappropriate for minors. Many online platforms are operated by multinational companies, and the question of jurisdictional authority poses a significant challenge in internet governance.

Additionally, Taiwan’s government faces organizational challenges in how it divides responsibility for internet governance—whether by industry or content type. This lack of clear regulation has been an ongoing issue.

 

TWNIC CEO Jofan Yu also highlighted that traditional legal regulations are not fully applicable to the internet world, given its cross-border nature and the anonymity it affords users. In contrast to the traditional top-down regulatory approach, a governance model that involves the participation of multiple stakeholders is better suited to the internet. Yu used internet fraud as an example to illustrate how online crimes often involve cross-border activities, making enforcement by government authorities difficult.

 

Future Outlook on Internet Governance

Internet governance is an ongoing process that requires constant communication, collaboration, and adjustment among various parties. As technology continues to evolve rapidly, the challenges of internet governance will become even more complex and difficult to predict. Therefore, all stakeholders must adapt to these changes and work together to promote the healthy development of the online world.

 

TWNIC CEO Jofan Yu and iWIN CEO Yi-Feng Huang emphasized that parents, teachers, civil society, the government, and businesses all play active roles in this process. Everyone is part of the internet ecosystem, and only through collective efforts can we ensure that the internet becomes a safer and healthier environment, especially when it comes to providing better protection and support for children.