Taiwan proposes tougher penalties for insulting the dead using AI

Taiwanese legislator Weng Hsiao-ling has proposed amendments to the criminal code to address the growing threat of AI-driven crimes targeting the deceased. The proposed changes aim to increase penalties for insulting and defaming the dead, especially when advanced technologies like deepfakes and digital resurrection are employed.

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The current Criminal Code Article 312 has not kept pace with modern protections, and the new law aims to comprehensively protect the personality and reputation rights of the deceased and the emotions of their surviving relatives.

The current law, Article 312 of the Criminal Code, imposes a fine of up to 9,000 New Taiwan dollars for public insult of the deceased and up to 30,000 New Taiwan dollars for defamation. The proposed amendments seek to raise these fines to 30,000 and 60,000 New Taiwan dollars, respectively. Crucially, the bill introduces a provision to double the penalty if the offense is committed through mass communication tools like broadcast and the internet, or by using computer-generated methods.

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With the advancement of information technology and artificial intelligence (AI), criminal methods using deepfake synthesis and 'digital resurrection' to produce false images, sounds, or electronic records are becoming increasingly realistic.

The justification for the amendment highlights the increasing sophistication of AI technologies, which can create realistic fake images, sounds, or electronic records. When these "digital violence" tactics are used against deceased individuals, the lines between truth and falsehood blur, causing continuous, cumulative, and widespread harm to the deceased's reputation and the emotional well-being of their families. The current legal framework is deemed insufficient to cope with these emerging forms of digital crime.

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This type of digital violence, when directed at deceased individuals, often makes it difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood, causing continuous, cumulative, and widespread severe harm to the deceased's personality rights and reputation, as well as the emotions of their surviving relatives, leading to irreparable重创.