Rethinking media literacy policy in the digital internet era

A white paper on media literacy policy emphasizing two focal points—liberation and empowerment—was released in Taiwan in 2002. These points appropriately reflected the media environment at that time and indicated the measures that the government should undertake to improve media literacy. However, due to the drastic changes in the digital environment, such as the dissemination of fake news and the use of artificial intelligence, this white paper policy should be modified to address this new environment. The aim of this study was to propose a future direction for media literacy policy. A literature review on media literacy policy demonstrated that the policy approach should include digital innovation. Subsequently, this study reviewed the nationwide media literacy policies implemented in Taiwan since 2002. The review results indicated that these policies gradually shifted focus towards the digital evolution of media but lacked the complete planning required to realize a coherent system. Consequently, this study suggested the following five feasible future directions: (1) shifting the focus of media literacy in policies and understanding the new media environment, (2) developing a concept of a media literacy-based prosumer, (3) developing information judgment literacy in the digital internet era, (4) focusing on the topics of artificial intelligence, algorithms, and big data, and (5) establishing a coherent system that cultivates qualified teachers and is sustainably supported. Finally, this study called for a new white paper to be urgently released.