Artificial Intelligence · Taiwan
Artificial Intelligence - Taiwan
Taiwan enacted the Artificial Intelligence Basic Act on 23 December 2025 (promulgated and in force 14 January 2026), establishing a 20-clause framework law that sets seven core principles for AI governance, designates the NSTC as the lead authority, and creates a three-tiered national governance structure. The act is deliberately a framework statute: it articulates principles, institutional roles, and high-risk AI obligations, but delegates penalty and enforcement details to implementing regulations and sectoral legislation to be enacted within two years. It complements Taiwan's AI Action Plan 2.0 and the Executive Yuan's 10 AI Infrastructure Initiatives launched in 2025.
The Legislative Yuan passed the AI Basic Act on 23 December 2025; President William Lai promulgated it on 14 January 2026, making it binding law. The act supersedes inconsistent legislation, with a two-year window for government to amend or repeal conflicting laws.
A three-tiered structure places an AI Strategy Special Committee (chaired by the Premier, including academics, industry, agency heads and local government) at the top, with the NSTC as the central executing authority and sectoral ministries below. The committee must convene at least annually.
The act mandates that all AI research, development and application adhere to: sustainability and well-being; human autonomy; privacy and data governance; cybersecurity and safety; transparency and explainability; fairness and non-discrimination; and accountability.
The act requires the government to classify AI applications by risk level, mandate warnings/precautions for high-risk systems, and establish liability attribution standards, compensation mechanisms, and insurance frameworks for harms caused by high-risk AI. MODA targeted Q1 2026 to publish the implementing risk-classification framework.
The AI Basic Act does not itself include penalties, fines, or detailed compliance procedures; these are deferred to NSTC-led implementing regulations and cross-ministry sectoral rules, which must be in place by approximately January 2028.
The act builds on the Taiwan AI Action Plan 2.0 (launched 2023) and the Executive Yuan's 10 AI Infrastructure Initiatives (2025) targeting silicon photonics, quantum computing, and AI robotics, positioning the law within a broader industrial-strategy framework rather than purely a regulatory one.
Machine-assisted translation · verified 5/24/2026 · orientation, not legal advice. English version →