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Artificial intelligence
TechPolicy

China’s algorithm law takes effect to curb Big Tech’s sway in public opinion

  • The regulation marks a bold attempt by Beijing to tame the use of recommendation algorithms in apps and websites
  • Under the new rules, tech companies are told to “promote positive energy” and allow users to decline personalised recommendations

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Shoppers and visitors walk along Nanjing Road East in Shanghai. A new regulation in China designed to rein in the use of algorithms goes into effect on Tuesday. Photo: Bloomberg
Tracy Qu

A new regulation in China designed to rein in the use of recommendation algorithms in apps went into effect on Tuesday, representing Beijing’s latest effort to curb the influence of Big Tech companies in shaping online views and opinions.

The rules come at a time when misinformation and fake news are running rampant on Chinese social media despite extensive government censorship. In recent days, platforms such as microblogging site Weibo, ByteDance’s short video-sharing app Douyin, and Tencent Holdings’ ubiquitous super app WeChat have shut down thousands of accounts that were spreading provocative content related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), the country’s internet watchdog, unveiled the draft of the regulation last August, hoping to “regulate algorithm-empowered recommendation activities on the internet”.

The final version of the rules – jointly drawn up by the CAC, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Public Security, and State Administration for Market Regulation – were published in January.

The regulation marks a bold attempt by the Chinese government to tame the use of algorithms, the technology behind the recommendation functions that are commonly found in apps and websites these days, giving suggestions to consumers on what to read, watch or buy online.

These algorithms “must be regulated” because “it is easy to abuse customised recommendations, thereby damaging our personal rights and interests, and even endangering national security in more serious cases”, Zuo Xiaodong, vice-president of the China Information Security Research Institute, was cited as saying in a post published on the CAC’s WeChat account on Tuesday.

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