As technology advances, sexual violence affects everyone in new and unexpected ways. To prevent digital sexual violence more effectively, Taiwan Government amended four laws, including the Criminal Code, the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act, the Sexual Assault Crime Prevention Act and the Crime Victim Protection Act, in early 2023.


According to the amendments, computer/digitally generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM), such as pseudo-photograph, comics or anime, is prohibited. This amendment not only increases the penalty for filming and distributing child sexual exploitation material but also includes the penalty for overseas distribution. More importantly, anyone possessing child sexual exploitation material will now face a criminal liability of no more than one-year imprisonment, instead of an administrative liability.

The significance of these changes shows that possessing CSAM, whether involving a real child or not, is an intolerable crime. Additionally, with “sexual image” clearly defined, any person who records or distributes sexual images (which include false sexual images, for instance, Deepfake images) without one’s agreement will face a maximum of five years in prison. Furthermore, a chapter on "crime victim protection orders" was added; any sexual images of the victim shall be confiscated, and any harassment to either victim or the victim's family is prohibited. As to the sexual images uploaded to the Internet, a newly created removal regulation specified the Internet service provider is obligated to restrict access and remove the related information but retain relevant data for judicial investigation. The Internet service provider will be fined or their access will be restricted if they refuse to collaborate.


The amendments strengthen the prevention and treatment of digital violence and take a step to improve child protection and gender equality in the digital environment.