Draft laws and guidelines are under consideration in Taiwan, with sector-specific initiatives already in place.

Laws/Regulations directly regulating AI (the “AI Regulations”)

Currently, there are no specific codified laws, statutory rules or regulations in Taiwan that directly regulate AI.

Since 2019, members of the Legislative Yuan (Taiwan’s congress) have been proposing various versions of draft AI laws. In March 2023, a private foundation called International Artificial Intelligence and Law Research Foundation (IAILRF) also proposed a draft Basic Law for Developments of Artificial Intelligence (IAILRF’s Draft AI Law).¹ The Executive Yuan (Taiwan’s cabinet) has separately confirmed that it is in the process of formulating the government’s version of the draft AI law (Government’s Draft AI Law). It is anticipated that the Government’s Draft AI Law will be published in 2024. As draft laws ultimately require approval from the Legislative Yuan, the likelihood and timing of its passage following its official publication remains uncertain.

Additionally, the Taiwan government has published multiple guidelines and plans for AI development, such as:

• The AI Technology R&D Guidelines (AI R&D Guidelines) (published in September 2019)²

• The 'Taiwan Artificial Intelligence Action Plan 2.0 (2023-2026) (AI Action Plan) (approved by the Executive Yuan in April 2023)³

In August 2023, the Executive Yuan also issued guidelines for the use of generative AI by the Executive Yuan and affiliated government authorities/agencies.⁴

Status of the AI Regulations

Guidelines and plans, such as the AI R&D Guidelines and the AI Action Plan, have already been approved and published (as discussed above).

Other laws affecting AI

There are various laws that do not directly seek to regulate AI, but may affect the development or use of AI in Taiwan. A non-exhaustive list of key examples includes:

• The Personal Data Protection Act⁵
• The Financial Technology Development and Innovative Experimentation Act⁶
• The Unmanned Vehicles Technology Innovative and Experimentation Act⁷
• The Medical Devices Act⁸

Intellectual property laws may affect several aspects of AI development and use.

Definition of “AI”

As noted above, there are currently no specific laws or regulations in Taiwan that directly regulate AI. Accordingly, there is currently no official legal definition of AI in Taiwan.

Territorial scope

As noted above, there are currently no specific laws or regulations in Taiwan that directly regulate AI. Accordingly, there is currently no territorial scope.

Sectoral scope

As noted above, there are currently no specific laws or regulations in Taiwan that directly regulate AI. Nevertheless, legislators in Taiwan have promulgated certain sector-specific laws for companies to test the use of certain technologies (including AI) in controlled regulatory environments, such as:

• The Financial Technology Development and Innovative Experimentation Act (to promote fintech services and companies)⁹
• The Unmanned Vehicles Technology Innovative Experimentation Act (to promote the use of autonomous vehicles)¹⁰

Additionally, in the financial services industry, the Financial Supervisory Commission (Taiwan’s financial regulator, the FSC) published the “core principles and policies for use of AI in the financial industry” (FSC AI Policy) in October 2023.¹¹ In late 2023, the FSC also published a set of draft guidelines for the use of AI in the financial industry.¹² The FSC is currently seeking public feedback on the draft, so it is not yet certain when these guidelines will be finalized.

Compliance roles

As noted above, there are currently no specific laws or regulations in Taiwan that directly regulate AI. AI systems are not currently recognized as separate legal entities in Taiwan, so they cannot be subject to civil liability on a standalone basis. An injured party would therefore need to prove that the use of AI technology falls within a category of tort that is recognized under Taiwan’s Civil Code and/or the Consumer Protection Act. For example, an injured party may be able to claim that: (i) the manufacturer of a self-driving car liable under Article 7 of the Consumer Protection Act; or (ii) the user of a self-driving car liable under Article 184 of the Civil Code.¹³

Core issues that the AI Regulations seek to address

As noted above, there are currently no specific laws or regulations in Taiwan that directly regulate AI.

Nevertheless, given that it appears likely that the IAILRF’s Draft AI Law will influence Taiwan’s eventual regulation of AI, its main aims may shed some light on the eventual outcome:¹⁴

• “To shape a trustworthy environment for the development of AI and realize its diverse utilization”
• To ensure that “the research and use of AI [is] human-oriented, with the goals of benefiting the people and promoting sustainable development, and adhering to basic principles”
• “To establish risk assessment and regulatory mechanisms for the development and use of AI, and regulate appropriately based on the level of risk to balance the possible hazard of new technologies”

Risk categorization

As noted above, there are currently no specific laws or regulations in Taiwan that directly regulate AI. However, the IAILRF’s Draft AI Law proposes a risk-based approach to regulation of AI products and services. Accordingly, it is anticipated that AI products and services will also be categorized according to risk under the Government’s Draft AI Law, especially if other AI regulations (such as the EU AI Act) adopt a similar approach.

Key compliance requirements

As noted above, there are currently no specific laws or regulations in Taiwan that directly regulate AI.

Nevertheless, the AI R&D Guidelines set out the following eight principles that participants in AI technology should be aware of when conducting relevant activities:¹⁵

• Common good and well-being
• Fairness and non-discrimination
• Autonomy and control
• Safety
• Privacy and data governance
• Transparency and traceability
• Explainability
• Accountability and communication

In addition, the IAILRF has expressed the need for the implementation of “AI ethical principles” through the IAILRF’s Draft AI Law, which includes autonomy, confidentiality, security, inclusion and transparency.¹⁶

Regulators

Currently, there is no AI-specific regulator in Taiwan. However, the following authorities oversee different aspects of AI:

• The National Science and Technology Council (a statutory agency of the Executive Yuan) is responsible for overseeing basic AI-related guidelines/regulations
• The Ministry of Digital Affairs provides guidance and incentives for interdisciplinary digital innovation of AI and other digital economy related industries
• Sector-specific domains involving the use of AI (e.g., healthcare, transportation, finance, etc.) are regulated by relevant bodies such as the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Transportation and Communication, and the Financial Supervisory Commission

Enforcement powers and penalties

As noted above, there are currently no specific laws or regulations in Taiwan that directly regulate AI. Accordingly, enforcement and penalties relating to creation, dissemination and/or use of AI are governed by related violations in non-AI legislation.

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Lee and Li contributors - Benjamin Y. Li and Eddie Hsiung.