United Daily News reported on Oct. 7 that the Keelung District Court acquitted a man surnamed Yang, whose ex-girlfriend accused him of filming their sexual activity without her consent. Prosecutors had indicted him for violating sexual privacy under the Criminal Code, alleging that in March 2024, while they were dating, he used his phone to record at a rented apartment in Keelung and a guesthouse in Yilan County.

Two accounts and what the judge saw

Yang admitted filming but said she knew and agreed. She said she had refused and was ignored. The judge reviewed the footage and found it was shot within her line of sight, with close-ups of her face and moments when she made faces at the camera, making it hard to conclude she did not know she was being recorded.

Some clips show her covering her face or the lens and saying words to the effect of 'you're really filming.' The judge held that these moments alone do not show that he kept recording after she refused, and that the hand movements could be part of the sexual activity itself.

Chat messages and the lack of corroboration

She submitted LINE screenshots, mostly objecting to the recordings after the breakup, along with a remark that she disliked being filmed nude. The court said this did not prove she withheld consent at the time of filming.

The only evidence pointing to guilt was her testimony, with nothing else to corroborate its reliability. The judge ruled that a conviction cannot rest on one party's account alone and returned a not-guilty verdict.

The case illustrates how hard consent is to prove in intimate-image cases: events happen in private, objective evidence is scarce, and courts apply the principle of resolving doubt in the defendant's favor. It does not mean filming is acceptable; recording without clear consent can still be punished, and clear communication and records remain the best protection. Whether prosecutors appeal will decide if a higher court takes up the case.