Comparison Table of Provisions | Proposed Amendments for the Four-Act Joint Defense Against Digital Sexual Violence: Taiwan Association for Human Rights' / Judicial Reform Foundation's Suggested Comparison Table of Provisions

1. A person who intimidates another by threatening to disseminate, broadcast, or otherwise make available for public viewing others' sexual intimate imagery, thereby causing the victim to be gripped by fear and affecting their daily life or social activities, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not less than six months and not more than three years, and may be concurrently fined not more than 30,000 NTD.
2. A person who commits the offense in the preceding paragraph to compel another to perform an act they have no obligation to perform or to obstruct another from exercising their rights shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not less than six months and not more than five years.
3. A person who commits the offense in paragraph 1 to compel another to deliver property belonging to the principal or a third party, or to obtain property interests, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not less than six months and not more than seven years, and may be concurrently fined not more than 50,000 NTD.

1. In view of contemporary society, victims often originally produce sexual intimate imagery voluntarily; however, after acquiring such imagery, perpetrators use the threat of disseminating, broadcasting, or otherwise making available for public viewing such sexual intimate imagery as the content of intimidation, causing victims to live in fear, or demanding property or property interests from victims, or demanding reconciliation or other acts they have no obligation to perform, or obstructing victims from exercising their rights. Such incidents are increasingly prevalent in today's technological era and have a severe impact on victims compared to general offenses of intimidation, extortion, or coercion, leaving them in constant fear that their sexual intimate imagery will be made public. Therefore, it is deemed necessary to establish special provisions and heavier penalties.

2. According to Supreme Court Judgment 93-Tai-Shang-3309: "The offense of intimidation under Article 305 of the Criminal Code refers to simply intimidating another by threatening future harm to life, body, freedom, reputation, or property, thereby endangering public safety. If actual violent or coercive means are used to threaten harm to another's life, body, etc., compelling a person to perform an act they have no obligation to perform or obstructing a person from exercising their rights, it shall constitute the offense of coercion under Article 304 of the Criminal Code, rather than the offense of intimidation endangering public safety under the same Code." Thus, the circumstances of its commission differ from the offense of intimidation endangering safety. Therefore, when a perpetrator makes demands such as "reconciliation" or "engaging in sexual intercourse" that meet the elements of the offense of coercion, the sentence should be aggravated based on the offense of coercion.

3. Paragraph 6 of Article 319-3 regulates circumstances where, before sexual intimate imagery has been reproduced, disseminated, broadcast, delivered, or publicly displayed, the perpetrator uses the act of doing so as a means of intimidation, thereby committing the offense of coercion, intimidation, or extortion. Therefore, its commission does not require that the parties have already reproduced, disseminated, broadcast, delivered, or publicly displayed the imagery, which is hereby clarified.

1. When permitting the suspension of detention of a defendant in a case of intentional criminal conduct resulting in death, severe injury, or infringement of sexual autonomy, the court, upon balancing human rights protections and public interests and deeming it necessary, may ex officio or upon application by the prosecutor, prescribe a reasonable period of not more than two years, ordering the defendant to observe the following matters:
   1. Prohibition of acts harming the body or property of the crime victim or their family members.
   2. Prohibition of intimidation, harassment, contact, or stalking directed against the crime victim or their family members.
   3. Prohibition of approaching the residence, school, workplace, or other specific locations frequently visited by the crime victim or their family members within a specific distance without justifiable reason.
   4. Prohibition of other matters harming the crime victim or their family members.

2. The provisions of the preceding paragraph may be modified, extended, or revoked upon application or ex officio. Each extension period shall not exceed one year.

3. A person who violates the matters to be observed prescribed by the court pursuant to paragraph 1 may be directly taken into custody.

4. Following the suspension of detention, if the defendant violates any of the matters to be observed prescribed by the court pursuant to paragraph 1, an order for the re-execution of detention may be made.

5. In cases involving offenses under Chapter 28-1 of the Criminal Code, the court, upon balancing human rights protections and public interests and deeming it necessary, may ex officio or upon application by the prosecutor or victim, prescribe a reasonable period of not more than two years, ordering the defendant to observe or perform the following matters:
   1. The matters set forth in items 1 to 3 of paragraph 1.
   2. Prohibition of reproducing, disseminating, broadcasting, delivering, publicly displaying, or otherwise making available for public viewing the victim's sexual imagery.
   3. Delivering the victim's sexual imagery in possession to the victim.
   4. Delivering the victim's sexual imagery in possession to police or prosecutorial agencies.
   5. Removing or applying to internet platform providers, internet application service providers, and telecommunications enterprises to delete the victim's sexual imagery leaked by the opposing party.

6. Procedures concerning the application for and issuance of protection orders shall mutatis mutandis apply the provisions of this Chapter.

1. When permitting the suspension of detention of a defendant in a case of intentional criminal conduct resulting in death, severe injury, or infringement of sexual autonomy, the court, upon balancing human rights protections and public interests and deeming it necessary, may ex officio or upon application by the prosecutor or crime victim, prescribe a reasonable period of not more than two years, ordering the defendant to observe the following matters:
   1. Prohibition of acts harming the body or property of the crime victim or their family members.
   2. Prohibition of intimidation, harassment, contact, or stalking directed against the crime victim or their family members.
   3. Prohibition of approaching the residence, school, workplace, or other specific locations frequently visited by the crime victim or their family members within a specific distance without justifiable reason.
   4. Prohibition of other matters harming the crime victim or their family members.

2. In cases involving offenses under Chapter 28-1 of the Criminal Code, the court, upon balancing human rights protections and public interests and deeming it necessary, may ex officio or upon application by the prosecutor or victim, prescribe a reasonable period of not more than two years, ordering the defendant to observe the following matters:
   1. The matters set forth in items 1 to 3 of the preceding paragraph.
   2. Prohibition of reproducing, disseminating, broadcasting, delivering, publicly displaying, or otherwise making available for public viewing the victim's sexual imagery.
   3. Delivering or destroying the victim's sexual imagery in possession.
   4. Removing or applying to internet platform providers, internet application service providers, and internet access service providers to remove the victim's sexual imagery disseminated, broadcast, delivered, publicly displayed, or otherwise made available for public viewing by the defendant.
   5. Prohibition of other matters harming the victim.

3. The provisions of the preceding two paragraphs may be modified, extended, or revoked upon application or ex officio. Each extension period shall not exceed one year.

4. A person who violates the matters to be observed prescribed by the court pursuant to paragraph 1 or paragraph 2 may be directly taken into custody. Following the suspension of detention, if the defendant violates any of the matters to be observed prescribed by the court pursuant to paragraph 1, an order for the re-execution of detention may be made.

5. Cases involving offenses under Chapter 28-1 of the Criminal Code shall mutatis mutandis apply the provisions of this Chapter.

1. When permitting the suspension of detention of a defendant in a case of intentional criminal conduct resulting in death, severe injury, or infringement of sexual autonomy, the court, upon balancing human rights protections and public interests and deeming it necessary, may ex officio or upon application by the prosecutor, prescribe a reasonable period of not more than two years, ordering the defendant to observe the following matters:
   1. Prohibition of acts harming the body or property of the crime victim or their family members.
   2. Prohibition of intimidation, harassment, contact, or stalking directed against the crime victim or their family members.
   3. Prohibition of approaching the residence, school, workplace, or other specific locations frequently visited by the crime victim or their family members within a specific distance without justifiable reason.
   4. Prohibition of other matters harming the crime victim or their family members.

2. The provisions of the preceding paragraph may be modified, extended, or revoked upon application or ex officio. Each extension period shall not exceed one year.

3. A person who violates the matters to be observed prescribed by the court pursuant to paragraph 1 may be directly taken into custody.

4. Following the suspension of detention, if the defendant violates any of the matters to be observed prescribed by the court pursuant to paragraph 1, an order for the re-execution of detention may be made.

5. Cases involving offenses under Chapter 28-1 of the Criminal Code shall mutatis mutandis apply the provisions of this Chapter.

1. Internet platform providers, internet application service providers, and internet access service providers, upon knowing through an internet content protection agency, the competent authority, or other agencies that there is suspected sexual assault or circumstances involving the production or dissemination of the victim's sexual imagery, shall, upon being notified by such organization or agency, first restrict browsing or remove webpages or communication data related to the crime within twenty-four hours.

2. The crime-related webpages or communication data, personal data of the suspect, and internet usage records set forth in the preceding paragraph shall be retained for at least one hundred and eighty days to provide for investigation by judicial and police agencies.

3. Internet platform providers, internet application service providers, and internet access service providers shall establish relevant victim grievance channels and publicly disclose them.

4. When a police agency knows of suspected criminal activity under paragraph 1 and the victim's sexual imagery has been disseminated or threatened with dissemination, it shall, upon the victim's request, investigate and actively assist in retrieving the sexual imagery. For the victim's sexual imagery that has already been disseminated, the police agency shall, upon the victim's request, order the criminal suspect to remove it within twenty-four hours of receiving the request, or notify the internet platform providers, internet application service providers, and internet access service providers under paragraph 1.

5. If the internet platform providers, internet application service providers, and internet access service providers are located overseas, the police agency shall still actively assist the victim by contacting the relevant platforms and enterprises to petition for restricted browsing or removal of information related to the suspected criminal activity under paragraph 1; when necessary, it may request the assistance of the competent judicial administrative authority to petition foreign governments, agencies, or international organizations through international criminal judicial assistance.

1. Internet platform providers, internet application service providers, and internet access service providers, upon knowing through an internet content protection agency, the competent authority, or other agencies, that there is suspected sexual assault and circumstances involving the production or dissemination of the victim's sexual imagery, shall first restrict browsing or remove webpages or communication data related to the crime within twenty-four hours.

2. The crime-related webpages or communication data, personal data of the suspect, and internet usage records set forth in the preceding paragraph shall be retained for at least one hundred and eighty days to provide for investigation by judicial and police agencies.

3. Internet platform providers, internet application service providers, and internet access service providers shall establish relevant victim grievance channels and publicly disclose them.

4. When a police agency knows of suspected criminal activity under paragraph 1 and the victim's sexual imagery has been disseminated or threatened with dissemination, it shall, upon the victim's request, investigate and actively assist in retrieving the sexual imagery. For the victim's sexual imagery that has already been disseminated, the police agency shall, upon the victim's request, order the criminal suspect to remove it within twenty-four hours of receiving the request, or notify the internet platform providers, internet application service providers, and internet access service providers under paragraph 1.

5. If the internet platform providers, internet application service providers, and internet access service providers are located overseas, the police agency shall still actively assist the victim by contacting the relevant platforms and enterprises to petition for restricted browsing or removal of information related to the suspected criminal activity under paragraph 1; when necessary, it may request the assistance of the competent judicial administrative authority to petition foreign governments, agencies, or international organizations through international criminal judicial assistance.

1. Internet platform providers, internet application service providers, and internet access service providers, upon discovering or knowing through an internet content protection agency, the competent authority, or other agencies that there is suspected sexual assault, shall first restrict browsing or remove webpage data related to the crime, and notify police agencies.
2. The crime-related webpage data, personal data of the suspect, and internet usage records set forth in the preceding paragraph shall be retained for at least one hundred and eighty days to provide for investigation by judicial and police agencies.

1. The term "discover" in paragraph 1 of Article 13 obligates internet platform providers, internet application service providers, and internet access service providers to proactively search for suspected crime webpage data, rendering them with the dual roles of service provider and reviewer, which is detrimental to the formulation of review standards and concrete implementation. To avoid exerting an improper impact on freedom of speech, active obligations are not additionally imposed on platforms and service providers.

2. According to the Awakening Foundation's service records of 655 digital sexual violence assistance cases from 2015 to 2021, over 90% of victims were female and 7% were male. Among cases where perpetrators threatened to disseminate sexual intimate imagery, it was found that the highest proportion (29%) involved threats without dissemination yet; second was direct dissemination without threats (28%); third was threats accompanied by dissemination (14%); no threats and no dissemination was 13%; and uncertain was 16%. Regarding perpetrators' motives, "uncertain motive" accounted for the highest at 36.51%, followed by "demanding reconciliation" at 12.17%, thirdly "pure retaliation" at 11.84%, and fourthly "extorting money" at 11.51%. In practice, when victims are notified by others that their sexual intimate imagery has been leaked, or are threatened and intimidated by holders of the sexual intimate imagery—such as threats of retaliation, extortion of money or cryptocurrency, sextortion, or demanding more sexual intimate imagery in exchange—it often causes great panic, fear, and anxiety in victims. When an incident occurs, if the imagery has been disseminated, victims hope to take down or delete the videos as soon as possible; if not disseminated, victims hope to retrieve or ensure the deletion of the sexual intimate imagery from the photographer or disseminator as soon as possible to avoid the risk of dissemination.

3. Considering that the most immediate and fundamental way to prevent digital image dissemination is for the original poster—namely the perpetrator—to surrender the imagery in their control, the obligation for the perpetrator to surrender the imagery is imposed in paragraph 1, and penalties for violations are regulated in paragraph 2. In particular, the takedown of overseas imagery cannot be handled directly through domestic procedures; therefore, imposing the surrender obligation on the perpetrator is currently a more viable way to prevent the circulation of sexual intimate imagery.

4. After a victim reports to the police, if all of the victim's sexual intimate imagery (stored on the perpetrator's mobile phone, flash drive, computer, or cloud storage) can be seized promptly, it can deter the dissemination of sexual intimate imagery, reduce physical and mental trauma to the victim, and reduce judicial litigation. However, because search and seizure are compulsory measures under criminal procedural law, based on the Awakening Foundation's assistance experience, prosecutors often fail to initiate them promptly due to considerations of the principle of proportionality. If the initial dissemination of sexual intimate imagery is not handled promptly, subsequent infringement may expand. Therefore, institutional design should strive for promptness in principle, while still warranting subsequent judicial review to avoid excessively infringing upon the legal rights and interests of the perpetrator. Consequently, remedies under paragraphs 3 and 4 are added.

1. Personnel who, due to their official duties or business, know or hold the name, date of birth, place of residence, and other data sufficient to identify the identity of a sexual assault victim shall keep them confidential, unless otherwise provided by law. Police personnel shall take safety measures to protect the victim when necessary.

2. Documents produced by administrative, judicial, and military judicial agencies that must be made public shall not disclose the name, date of birth, place of residence, and other information sufficient to identify the identity of the victim.

3. Other litigation arising from sexual assault cases shall, upon the request of the sexual assault victim or their statutory agent, mutatis mutandis apply the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs.

1. Personnel who, due to their official duties or business, know or hold the name, date of birth, place of residence, and other data sufficient to identify the identity of a sexual assault victim shall keep them confidential, unless otherwise provided by law. Police personnel shall take safety measures to protect the victim when necessary.

2. Documents produced by administrative, judicial, and military judicial agencies that must be made public shall not disclose the name, date of birth, place of residence, and other information sufficient to identify the identity of the victim.

1. Trials of sexual assault cases shall not be public. However, this shall not apply under any of the following circumstances where the court deems it necessary:
   1. The victim is an adult, and consent shall be given by the person themselves. However, for those under an order of guardianship or assistantship, information shall be provided in a manner understandable to them, and consent of their guardian or assistant shall be obtained.
   2. The victim is a minor under the age of twelve, and consent shall be given by the person themselves and their statutory agent.
   3. The victim is a minor aged twelve or above, and consent shall be given by the person themselves. However, for those under an order of guardianship or assistantship, information shall be provided in a manner understandable to them, and consent of their guardian or assistant shall be obtained.

2. Other litigation arising from sexual assault cases may, upon the request of the sexual assault victim or their statutory agent and when the court deems it necessary, mutatis mutandis apply the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

3. When giving consent, the guardian or assistant stipulated in the proviso of subparagraph 1 of paragraph 1 shall respect the wishes of the person under the order of guardianship or assistantship.

4. When giving consent, the statutory agent under subparagraph 2 of paragraph 1 and the guardian or assistant under subparagraph 3 shall take the best interests of the child and youth as the primary consideration, and weigh their opinions according to their degree of mental maturity.

5. When the guardian, assistant, or statutory agent stipulated in items 1 to 3 of paragraph 1 is the defendant of the sexual assault, the trial shall not be public.

6. (Deleted)

1. Trials of sexual assault cases shall not be public. However, this shall not apply under any of the following circumstances where the court deems it necessary:
   1. The victim is an adult, and consent shall be given by the person themselves. However, for those under an order of guardianship or assistantship, information shall be provided in a manner understandable to them, and the consent of their guardian or assistant shall be obtained.
   2. The victim is a minor under the age of twelve, and consent shall be given by the person themselves and their statutory agent.
   3. The victim is a minor aged twelve or above, and consent shall be given by the person themselves. However, for those under an order of guardianship or assistantship, information shall be provided in a manner understandable to them, and the consent of their guardian or assistant shall be obtained.        

2. When giving consent, the guardian or assistant stipulated in the proviso of subparagraph 1 of the preceding paragraph shall respect the wishes of the person under the order of guardianship or assistantship.

3. When giving consent, the statutory agent under subparagraph 2 of paragraph 1 and the guardian or assistant under subparagraph 3 shall take the best interests of the child and youth as the primary consideration, and weigh their opinions according to their degree of mental maturity.

4. When the guardian, assistant, or statutory agent stipulated in items 1 to 3 of paragraph 1 is the defendant of the sexual assault, the trial shall not be public.

5. Other litigation arising from sexual assault cases may, upon the request of the sexual assault victim or their statutory agent and when the court deems it necessary, mutatis mutandis apply the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

With reference to the legislative intent of Article 12, "other litigation arising from sexual assault cases" also necessitates the mutatis mutandis application of confidentiality provisions. Therefore, the principle that trials shall not be public and its exceptions should also be applied mutatis mutandis based on the same intent, and should not be limited to circumstances where the "guardian, assistant, or statutory agent is the defendant of the sexual assault." Legislator Hung Meng-kai's version is hereby adjusted as left.