TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Academics have voiced concern about the Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) administration’s attempt to introduce a digital services bill that they believe would be more devastating to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) than the recent plagiarism controversy.

The Digital Intermediary Service Act (DISA) is supposed to better protect users’ rights by imposing greater accountability and transparency on platforms, including online forums such as PTT and Dcard. A public hearing for the draft law originally slated for Thursday (Aug. 25) has been canceled and the bill was shelved due to a strong backlash.

Niu Tse-hsun (鈕則勳), a professor at Chinese Culture University’s Department of Advertising, claimed the bill would sabotage the DPP's performance in the year-end elections. The impact in his opinion is even bigger than the thesis plagiarism scandal surrounding former Taoyuan mayoral candidate Lin Chih-chien (林智堅) because it is “a direct challenge to the Constitution-enshrined right of freedom of speech,” UDN quoted him as saying.

Echoing his view, political scientist Shih Cheng-feng (施正鋒) said the proposed regulation backfired because it raises fears of “thought control.” Lai Hsiang-wai (賴祥蔚), a professor at the National Taiwan University of Arts’ Department of Radio & Television, believes that a better approach to fighting disinformation is introducing a real-name system for anyone who wishes to comment online.

The National Communications Commission (NCC) has denied it is ramming the bill through and that all opinions are welcome before the final version is hammered out. Online platforms have opposed the bill, arguing that it infringes on people’s freedom of speech, hinders industrial development, and is hard to comply with, wrote CNA.