Government Spending to Maintain Cyber-Army A Democracy Virus？Scholar Wary About Monopolized Marketplace of Ideas
The Storm Media, March 27, 2022
Although Premier Su Tseng-chang stated that the government is not keeping a cyber army, previously, William Lai, now vice president, called upon President Tsai Ing-wen during his presidential primary campaign to ask her cyber army to stop attacking him in the presidential primary election of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which raised the seriousness of the relationship between the public sector and the cyber army to the public. Associate Professor Liao Yuan-hao of the Department of Law at National Chengchi University described at a forum on March 26, that if the government pays to support a cyber army, it will become a “virus to democracy” because it twists the relationship between the citizens and the government. Originally, the voices of the people should be the decision maker. If the government is using the taxpayer money to, in turn, attack the people, then it would be spending public funds, to sway public opinion, and control the real owners of the government, the citizens.
The Fair Winds Foundation held a Breakthrough Forum on March 26 about "Democracy under the Wrath of the Internet Army".
Liao expressed that Lai Chin-te’s mention of the cyber army in 2019 really surprised him, because Lai is a relatively difficult case to be knocked down by the cyber army, and much of Lai’s supporters, who support Taiwan independence are not as affected by the internet army. At the time, in the presidential primary election of the DPP, Lai originally was winning by 12 percent, however, just after a month, he was losing by 8 percent to President Tsai.
Liao said that some people may argue that the Internet army is also a form of opinion, and we should not comment on whether it is good or bad, but why the “cyber army virus” is hurting democratic politics, it is because the government should be the ones listening to the people's voices. And they should be able to express their thoughts without any fear, and the government should not threaten ordinary citizens.
Liao indicated that the people can criticize the government, and influence the regime through elections. However, under the influence of the cyber army, a phenomenon of cyber cascades has emerged, one of which has become a domineering opinion, even leading to a silent spiral effect.
Liao elucidated that the government-funded cyber army is a “virus to democracy" because it subverts the relationship between the people and the government, because government-funded propaganda is part of the government. Originally, the government should listen to the voices of the people and make decisions. However, the government has used the people's money to scold another group of citizens, and use the people's money to control the real bosses of the government, the people.
“The Internet Army pretending to be the voice of the people, the Internet Army is not the people." Liao stressed that the public services that the government paid for are part of the government, but the government using money to bully a group of people, and pretend that this voice comes from the people on private websites, “the government does not have freedom of speech, only the citizens have freedom of speech."
Liao emphasized that the government's actions will eliminate the voices of challenge and criticism, and cause fear and monopoly in opinions. As for how to prevent it, he thinks that transparency is the most basic mechanism. When the government pays for advertising, buy propaganda, and is promoting policies, everything should be marked that it is government-funded, just like candidates' publicity advertisements must be marked. For example, he cited American election law in which independent expenditures of more than $200 must be marked with the source of funding, so government spending and publicity must be completely transparent.
Liao also explained that commercial advertising is a market of competition. But if it is used in politics, when the government is supporting a cyber army and criticizes the people with the people's money, real competition will eventually disappear.