MODA to launch anti-fraud website, mulls 2025 AI investment plan rollout

Taipei, Aug. 27 (CNA) The Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) announced Tuesday the upcoming launch of a new website to report online fraud and that a NT$10 billion (US$313 million) investment plan to bolster artificial intelligence (AI) startups in Taiwan is expected to begin accepting applications next year.

The anti-fraud reporting and inquiry website, which will also come with a mobile application version, is currently undergoing internal testing, while the ministry is coordinating with other government agencies to streamline related administrative procedures, Minister of Digital Affairs Yennun Huang (黃彥男) said during a press briefing marking his 100th day in office.

"Once the testing is complete and we receive approval from the Executive Yuan, we will make the system publicly available for use." he noted.

Deputy Digital Minister Lin Yi-jing (林宜敬) said that reports to the website will come from sources such as members of the public, public figures, and AI auto-scanning services provided by the National Institute of Cyber Security.

MODA will then use AI to assign those reported cases for verification with public figures or relevant authorities, he noted.

For confirmed fraud, the ministry will notify platforms like Google, Facebook, LINE, and Instagram to remove the fraudulent content, Lin added.

When asked about the website's launch date, Lin did not provide a specific answer but emphasized that MODA is being extremely careful, ensuring thorough cybersecurity testing and smooth processes before rolling out the system to the public.

With the website, Lin said MODA wants to enable the public to quickly determine whether a piece of information is potentially fraudulent, or already confirmed as a scam, while seeking to expedite the case assignment process.

In the past, without this system, it could take several days for different government agencies to manually process documents to confirm whether a piece of information was suspicious or fraudulent, he noted.

According to MODA, the interfaces of the website and application are currently in Chinese only, and further discussions are needed to determine whether interfaces in other languages will be developed.

Meanwhile, the growth and success of Taiwan's digital economy in the future will depend heavily on AI, Huang said, adding that "one of the significant limitations in AI development is funding, we thus hope to provide those (AI) startups with sufficient resources to support their growth."

The investment enhancement implementation plan for AI startups was approved by the management committee of the Executive Yuan's National Development Fund on Aug. 9 with an allocation of NT$10 billion over a 10-year period, according to Huang.

He noted that MODA has initiated preparatory work for the investment plan, including discussions on operational regulations and the establishment of an office, with the goal of formally accepting investment applications starting next year.

Lin Jiunn-shiow (林俊秀), deputy director-general of MODA's Administration for Digital Industries, said that the scope of investment includes domestic AI startups and companies related to the digital economy, covering areas like discriminative AI and generative AI.

Investment will primarily focus on Taiwanese companies, including those founded by foreign nationals, with funded projects having the potential to receive approval for overseas conversion, such as establishing operations abroad to meet the internationalization needs of those companies, he added.