TAIPEI: The "National Communications Commission" (NCC) said yesterday that the motion-graphic news service launched by Next Media Ltd just a week earlier can be forced to cease operations under existing law.

Next Media, publisher of the Chinese-language Apple Daily newspaper, started the new online motion-graphic news service November 16, using it to report mostly news about murders, sexual assaults and suicides and providing grisly motion graphics and narration that can be accessed by the public on its website using computers and mobile phones.

The controversial service prompted an almost immediate outraged backlash from a wide swathe of women's, children's, youth's, education and media observer groups, some of which made plans to issue a protest statement and hold a protest, according to media reports.

Ho Chi-sen, head of the NCC Broadcasting and Content Department, said the Taipei city government can cite the Telecommunications Law and demand that the company's telecommunications service provider - Chunghwa Telecom - disable its news service, even though the server for the Web-based news service is located in Hong Kong.

In addition, the Child and Youth Welfare Law can also be cited to regulate the news service, as its content could jeopardize the mental health and well-being of children and young people, said Ho, adding that the NCC had already contacted the Child Welfare Bureau (CWB) under the internal affairs authorities with the aim of jointly establishing a safeguard mechanism.

Child Welfare Bureau Director Chien Hui-jiuan said that if it is found to be in violation of the law, the motion graphic news service could be fined NT$100,000-500,000 or prohibited from operating for one month to one year.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 11/26/2009 page2)