Dcard searched by prosecutors, the balance between freedom and responsibility on social media

The social platform Dcard is suspected of having members anonymously posting content related to fraud, minors, defamation, and other cases, leading to two police searches within 2 months. Dcard has refused to provide member information to the authorities citing "freedom of speech and privacy," sparking public debate. Lin Chien-lung, director of the Bureau of Investigation's High-Tech Crime Prevention Center, stated, "When criminals use the internet to commit crimes anonymously, it is no longer just about freedom of speech."

Recently, several participants in Polymarket's online prediction market were investigated due to the Taiwan presidential election, indicating that user data may have been provided by the operator due to interactions with exchange accounts. Discussions on privacy protection and crime prevention have thus garnered attention.

Dcard Refuses to Provide Member Data, Subjected to Police Search

According to a report by CNA, popular community platform Dcard was reportedly searched by the police due to anonymous posts by its members involving hundreds of cases of fraud, crimes against minors, and defamation. This marks the first instance in Taiwan of a social media company being subjected to a police search.

In November of this year, Dcard refused to provide member data to the authorities citing "freedom of speech and privacy" as the reason. Even with a search warrant, Dcard still refused to cooperate, with the police criticizing them for "using privacy protection to conceal illegal activities, which is too exaggerated." Lin Chien-lung, director of the Criminal Investigation Bureau's High-Tech Crime Prevention Center, stated that "criminal suspects using the internet for crimes under the cloak of anonymity is no longer just about freedom of speech."

Does Anonymity and Encryption Features Facilitate Crime?

The "anonymous" and "message encryption" technologies of social media platforms have long been controversial. Meta announced this month that it will gradually implement end-to-end encryption for its platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger, a move that has also faced criticism. Behind anonymity, it has led to the emergence of more "keyboard warriors," from online bullying to criminal activities, posing difficult challenges that have arisen with the rise of the internet.

According to a report by Yahoo, Meta, as the leader in social media, will assist in investigations if the case falls under 14 categories of criminal activities; Google will respond within a month if there is a search warrant; only Dcard ignored the letter and requires a search warrant to be presented on-site for record retrieval, prompting lawyer Chen Chung-yuan to quip, "Where did Dcard get the courage from?"