Taipei Official Questions Police Over Deepfake Case Handling

A political dispute has erupted in Taipei over the handling of a deepfake case involving President Lai Ching-te's voice. The Taipei City Government's Research, Development and Evaluation Commission has criticized the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB), questioning when it would investigate Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an. Chiang had previously supported the creator of a deepfake video using AI to synthesize President Lai's voice, stating it did not constitute a crime. The commission's chair, Yin Wei, suggested that if the creator's actions warranted a CIB visit, then Chiang's stance was also questionable. Meanwhile, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei mayoral candidate Shen Po-yang defended Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che, who had called on Chiang not to become a "deepfake Voldemort." Shen differentiated between promoting awareness of deepfakes and encouraging their use, arguing that Chiang's response implied deepfakes of the commander-in-chief's voice were acceptable. Yin countered that the video in question was clearly labeled as AI-generated and served a public awareness purpose, unlike Huang's political commentary, which he implied was more problematic.

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When will the Criminal Investigation Bureau knock on the door of Taipei City Government?