China Unveils Internet Algorithms

"China's powerful cyberspace regulator has taken the first step in a pioneering -- and uncertain -- government effort to rein in the automated systems that shape the internet.

This month, the Cyberspace Administration of China published summaries of 30 core algorithms belonging to two dozen of the country's most influential internet companies, including TikTok owner ByteDance Ltd., e-commerce behemoth Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd., owner of China's ubiquitous WeChat super app.

The milestone marks the first systematic effort by a regulator to compel internet companies to reveal information about the technologies powering their platforms, which have shown the capacity to radically alter everything from pop culture to politics. It also puts Beijing on a path that some technology experts say few governments, if any, are equipped to handle.

The public versions of the filings explain in plain language what types of data a given algorithm uses and what it does with the data. In many instances, they provide less detail than what Facebook voluntarily discloses to users about how it ranks content in its news feed.

The full filings, which aren't public, contain more-extensive descriptions of the data and algorithms, some of it considered confidential business information, people familiar with the submissions said. They also contain a self-assessment of potential security risks, according to public documentation of what the regulator asked companies to provide.

Companies submitted the information in response to a new law that took effect in March that tasks regulators with cleaning up the negative effects of algorithms such as the amplification of harmful information, infringement of user privacy and abuse of gig workers. The law also requires algorithms to be used to promote "positive energy," a Xi Jinping-era phrase for content that uplifts public opinion and favorably treats the Communist Party.

Beijing isn't alone in seeking to restrain the power of algorithms underpinning the internet. Regulators in the U.S. and European Union are grappling with similar issues, such as how to protect teen mental health and stamp out viral misinformation.

The Chinese law, however, represents the most assertive attempt to police algorithms directly. Ultimately, it can be applied to any service in the country that uses algorithmic technology.

"They are doing things that no one else has tried yet, and the rest of the world can learn from what works and doesn't work," said Graham Webster, who runs the DigiChina Project, which tracks China's digital-policy developments, at Stanford University.

One important question the effort raises, algorithm experts say, is whether direct government regulation of algorithms is practically possible.

The majority of today's internet platform algorithms are based on a technology called machine learning, which automates decisions such as ad-targeting by learning to predict user behaviors from vast repositories of data.

Unlike traditional algorithms that contain explicit rules coded by engineers, most machine-learning systems are black boxes, making it hard to decipher their logic or anticipate the consequences of their use.

Beijing's interest in regulating algorithms started in 2020, after TikTok sought an American buyer to avoid being banned in the U.S., people familiar with the government's thinking said.” [1]

It is a long overdue move. Hiding behind the need to compete in the world and to keep trade secrets, big tech companies are getting away with stealing everybody's information and even harming the youth. Governments have to stop it. China started this.

1.  World News: China Unveils Internet Algorithms
Hao, Karen. 
Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 31 Aug 2022: A.16.