Alibaba and Tencent must share details of algorithms with Chinese government

The Cyberspace Administration China has requested details about the algorithms used by Chinese tech giants. The Chinese government says it is trying to combat misuse of data by large tech companies with such actions.

TikTok parent company ByteDance, online store Alibaba and holding company Tencent, among others, have had to share details about their algorithms with the CAC. Bloomberg to report. The executive arm of the Central Committee on Cyberspace Affairs does not yet require the actual algorithm a company uses. This requires, among other things, a corporate self-reflection on cybersecurity, as well as a description of the type of data collected, whether biometric or identity-related data is collected from a user, and what data is used to develop algorithms. to train.

The CAC can request more information from Chinese tech companies at its discretion. The measures are part of an overall move by the Chinese Communist Party to curb the misuse of user data by tech companies. Several laws have recently been passed and guidelines issued for this.

Algorithms play a central role here, such code at least partly uses user data. Algorithms are usually seen as trade secrets by the companies concerned; the way in which an algorithm functions partly determines the success of a service. For example, how Alibaba makes product suggestions partly determines whether and what customers spend money on. The algorithm used also determines the user experience on social media. Incidentally, TikTok has not had to share details about the algorithm, but sister app Douyin, also owned by ByteDance, is subject to the directive. TikTok is exclusively available abroad, while Douyin is intended for the Chinese market.

Update, 8.50 pm: Clarification on the rules regarding ByteDances social media has been added to the article.