A group of Chinese regulators have introduced rules that will limit the use of algorithms to determine what users read, watch and buy online, in a major blow to tech giants in the country, reports Caixin. Such algorithms are a major part of companies like Tencent, ByteDance and Alibaba’s business models. Under new rules taking effect March 1, consumers will have the right to switch off algorithmic recommendations on apps and see or delete the keywords the algorithms use to target them.
The new regulations are part of a government campaign to rein in the internet sector’s mushrooming power. The final rules largely follow a draft released last year. The standards were jointly drawn up by the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security and the State Administration for Market Regulation.
The new rules “reflect some of the biggest concerns across Chinese society today—content control online, the aging population crisis, transparency of big tech companies, anti-competitive behavior,” said Kendra Schaefer, head of tech policy research at Beijing-based consultancy Trivium China. They “seek to get out in front of a future where algorithms are used to corrode social unity or exacerbate market problems.”
You must log in to post a comment.