Global AI lawIn Effect (14 January 2026) — framework act

AI Laws in Taiwan

Taiwan's AI Basic Act (人工智慧基本法) was promulgated on 14 January 2026 and, under its own Article 20, took effect that same day. It is a framework statute rather than a compliance regime: 20 articles that bind the STATE rather than private deployers. Article 2 makes the National Science and Technology Council the central competent authority, with municipal and county governments competent locally, and leaves sector-specific matters to each sector regulator. Article 3 gives Taiwan a statutory definition of artificial intelligence — a system capable of autonomous operation which, through input or sensing and by means of machine learning and algorithms, produces predictions, content, recommendations or decisions that affect physical or virtual environments. Article 4 binds government AI policy to seven principles: sustainable development and well-being, human autonomy, privacy protection and data governance, security, transparency and explainability, fairness and non-discrimination, and accountability. Risk classification is delegated rather than set in the Act. Businesses should note what this Act does NOT do: it creates no offence, no regulator-imposed obligation on private AI deployers and no penalty of any kind — verified against all 20 articles, none of which contains a fine, penalty, criminal or sanction provision. Binding exposure in Taiwan therefore still runs through the Personal Data Protection Act and sector rules, with the delegated risk framework expected from the Ministry of Digital Affairs.