The economic affairs authority of Taiwan launched a new rule targeting technology giants iQIYI and Tencent from carrying out “illegal operations” in Taiwan without an official license, which experts said is a move that reflects Taiwan Democratic Progressive Party’s desire to follow in the US footsteps and create problems via political manipulation in an attempt to diverge from the mainland.
The authority has given OTT-TV 14 days notice, after which the plan will be officially announced on September 3, according to a statement by the Taiwanese economic affairs authorities on Tuesday.
An OTT media service is a streaming media service offered directly to viewers via the internet, meaning it bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms, and therefore any local controls too.
In July this year, the Taiwan communications authorities adopted draft measures on the management of internet audio-visual services to cater to OTT service providers both in and outside the region. Such an approach is considered an attack on OTT practitioners on the mainland, and has also been referred to as “iQIYI, Tencent terms” in Taiwan.
