2024 Innovative Enterprise Law Seminar｜Session I Recap
The first conference hosted by NTU CIEL “Enterprise Law Innovation Conference: From Technological Innovation to Legal Innovation” was opened on December 11, 2024!
The conference combined the latest academic research and practical observations, focusing on legal issues at the intersection of finance and technology, attracting hundreds of people to participate. Participants included personnel from government units, financial industry players, technology industry players, law professors, and students.
The conference was opened with Vice President and Director Wang-Ruu Tseng delivering the opening remarks.
Director Tseng first explained that the Center is the first university-level legal research institution at National Taiwan University. Its aim is to integrate resources across different colleges and universities and to engage internationally for more expansive and sustainable research outcomes. She also expressed special appreciation to Distinguished Alumnus Hong-Tu Tsai for his support in creating the Center.
Drawing on the slogan “Collaborate to Innovate, Innovate to Pioneer, Pioneer to Succeed!”, Director Tseng highlighted the Center’s commitment to pioneering research in corporate governance, financial technology and supervision, digital crimes, and family business succession, with next year’s primary focus set on financial technology and supervision. She concluded by thanking the conference participants for their enthusiasm and invited them to stay informed about the Center’s upcoming events and research findings, enabling the Center to become a major think tank offering concrete policy recommendations.
After the opening speech, the discussion on the topics of this event began:
Session 1: “Regulatory Challenges of Financial Influencers: Rethinking the Legal Framework for Financial Advisory and Promotional Activities”
Deputy Director Chao-Hung Chen was the speaker of the first session, with Professor Ying-Hsin Tsai from the NTU College of Law as the discussant. The discussion centered on legal and regulatory challenges brought by how the so-called fiinfluencers, who serve as a key conduit for disseminating financial information over social media.
Deputy Director Chen noted that younger demographics increasingly rely on digital media for investment ideas and financial tips. However, Taiwan’s current regulatory framework primarily governs financial institutions and does not directly address “finfluencers,” leaving influencer-driven activities in a grey area.
He offered two possible avenues: treating finfluencers’ behavior as marketing, an area that lacks comprehensive regulation in Taiwan and might benefit from comparative legal references; or viewing their activities as a form of investment advisory, which could fall under Article 4 of the Securities Investment Trust and Consulting Act and thus require compliance with specific rules.
Building on Dr. Chen’s analysis, Professor Tsai pointed out that some European countries have issued guidance addressing influencer compliance with market abuse regulations—for instance, Germany enforces regulations that influencers must observe. She added that Taiwan’s Securities Investment Trust and Consulting Association has recently updated its self-regulatory guidelines, requiring financial institutions working with influencers to scrutinize influencers’ statements and periodically reassess compliance. Both Dr. Chen and Professor Tsai emphasized, however, that self-regulation alone may be insufficient to address the complexities of this emerging phenomenon.
