Opinion Piece: Who Truly Cares About Children and Youth Rights? Is Everyone Just Chasing Clicks?

Recently, a series of social incidents involving children and youth have drawn significant public attention in Taiwan, including child abuse, bullying, and underage sexual harassment cases. These events have been widely reported and discussed, bringing the Child and Youth Welfare and Rights Protection Act into broader public discourse.

With the boundless reach of the internet and the rising trend of short-form video consumption, one of the most common violations of youth protection laws is the playback of unblurred footage. Due to negligence in protecting victims’ psychological and physical well-being, a single impulsive decision to share original videos can make them accessible anytime, anywhere to an indefinite audience. This not only harms the mental and emotional development of those involved but also risks encouraging imitation, threatening public safety.

With just a simple tap of your finger, you might already be breaking the law.

We frequently encounter shocking headlines or heavily edited clips on various social media platforms designed to capture viewers’ attention and encourage sharing. As a result, many people unknowingly become distributors of such content—yet behind this act lies a violation of youth protection laws.

Inappropriate broadcasting of bullying and violence-related news also puts media organizations themselves at legal risk.

Raising awareness about youth rights through news media is undoubtedly the fastest and most efficient method. However, media outlets face pressure to maintain viewership and sales, often pushing them to the edge of legality. There have been multiple instances where media organizations were penalized by the National Communications Commission (NCC) for broadcasting content that harmed the psychological well-being of children and youth.

In 2020, seven channels—including TTV (Main Channel), TTV News, Next TV News, Era News, EBC News, CTI News, and TVBS News—were fined between NT$200,000 and NT$400,000 for airing a report on December 2, 2019, showing a group of minors at a karaoke birthday party collectively and publicly bullying a teenage girl. The broadcast was deemed likely to trigger imitation among youth, resulting in a total penalty of NT$1.95 million.

Do elected representatives truly care? The devil is in the details.

Having lawmakers speak out is another way to spark public discussion. However, the most common mistake among representatives is pursuing quick results. While claiming to advocate for the public, they may actually be using these issues to boost their own media visibility.

Recently, Huang Qionghui, a Democratic Progressive Party city councilor in Taoyuan, played an unblurred video of high school campus bullying during a parliamentary inquiry, criticizing the municipal government’s inadequate response. While seemingly a legitimate inquiry, she overlooked the fact that parliamentary sessions are live-streamed and recorded. By doing so, she violated the law and exposed the identities of both victims and perpetrators.

If the councilor genuinely cared about youth rights and development, she would not have forgotten the crucial step of blurring the footage. Such negligence invites suspicion that she is merely exploiting the issue for publicity, pretending to care while using it as a performance tool.

Recently, Huang Qionghui, a Democratic Progressive Party city councilor in Taoyuan, played an unblurred video of high school campus bullying during a parliamentary inquiry, criticizing the municipal government’s inadequate response. (Provided by author)

*Author works in media marketing industry