Taiwan lawmakers question Anthropic after 1.8 million Taiwanese books obtained for AI training

What happened

At a legislative hearing on Wednesday 4 November 2026, Taiwan's lawmakers questioned the Culture Ministry over AI company Anthropic's acquisition of Taiwanese books for AI training, Radio Taiwan International reported. Legislator Ko Ju-chun said Anthropic obtained large quantities of books through overseas partners, which were then dismantled and scanned as training material. Since November 2024, an estimated 1.8 million copies had been shipped from Taiwan in 16 batches, with an estimated total value exceeding NT$500 million (about US$15.2 million) — a volume equivalent to roughly one-third of the National Central Library's collection.

What the government was asked to do

Ko asked whether the government should charge a fee for such use, noting that the author of a NT$320 book would receive only about NT$32 in royalties at a 10% rate in exchange for an overseas AI company's scan for training. He also warned that domestic AI developers face potential copyright violations and criminal liability when seeking traditional Mandarin-language training materials, potentially putting them at a disadvantage, and urged the ministry to clarify its position on proposed legal changes.

Culture Minister Li Yuan said the ministry must protect creators while creating room for development, and that it would encourage amendments to the law to reduce penalties where appropriate. Li proposed government funding to compensate creators whose works are used for AI training, and Ko urged the ministry or the Taiwan Creative Content Agency to establish a platform connecting AI companies with publishers and cultural businesses to negotiate legal licensing agreements. Ko asked the ministry to state its position on legislative changes within a week and to submit a feasibility assessment for the licensing platform within a month; Li agreed to both requests.

Status and context

This is a legislative/regulatory event, not a lawsuit or court ruling: no infringement finding has been made, and the figures cited are the legislator's estimates as reported by RTI. It is distinct from the already-published Project Panama procurement reporting (October 2026), which covered Anthropic's book-buying operation itself; this item covers the 4 November legislative response, the compensation proposal, and the licensing-platform feasibility process. The underlying shipment figures are consistent with the earlier shipping-records reporting of 16 shipments from Taiwan since November 2024.