萬國法律事務所

Taiwan's Executive Yuan launched the SMS Contact Tracing System (“CTS”) on 19 May 2021 to aid in tracking and tracing individuals diagnosed with COVID-19. Taiwan’s Center for Disease Control (“CDC”) clearly indicated that the data obtained via the CTS is used for epidemic investigation only, and that the data will be deleted 28 days after it is obtained. However, a judge claimed that some police are using the CTS data in criminal investigations. The Taiwan Jury Association (“TJA”) now is urging that the CDC review its epidemic prevention policy, and suggesting that the relevant laws and regulations be amended as necessary as soon as possible to curb such abuse of the system by law enforcement.

The chairman of the TJA stated that the behavior of the police in using the CTS data clearly violates the promise made by the Government to the people. People are willing to submit their data based on considerations of the special measures adopted during the epidemic; however, if there is no legal basis, a severe crisis of democracy may arise. This abuse has created a serious issue that requires correction by amendment of the relevant laws.

An attorney at Taiwan's Judicial Reform Foundation explained that although the CDC had indicated that CTS data cannot be used in connection with criminal investigations, in fact the CDC eventually compromised, and such demonstrates the lack of proper regulations. To resolve this problem, amendments to the relevant legislation must be made. However, in the meantime, prosecutors and judges must properly control police use of CTS data before the relevant provisions of the Personal Information Protection Act and the Communication Security and Surveillance Act can be amended.