China’s New Algorithm Rules Take Aim at Big Tech Companies

Some interesting snippets from the article:

“Authorities say the first of its kind directive aims to create a healthy internet environment.”

“The first of its kind of rules in the country will be applicable toward algorithm recommendation technologies used for personalized push notifications, sorting and selecting, filtering, and other ways to provide information online to users, according to the announcement Tuesday. The new directive was jointly published by the Cyberspace Administration of China, along with three other government departments, and will go into effect March 1.

“While algorithms have injected momentum into political, economic, and social development over recent years, problems caused by unreasonable application of algorithms have profoundly affected the normal market order and social order,” the country’s internet watchdog said in the announcement.

Meanwhile, authorities have also tightened their oversight on algorithm recommendation service providers that offer news services, banning them from generating “fake news” or disseminating it.

“One of the most striking additions to the final draft was a stipulation prohibiting algorithms from sharing fake news,” Kendra Schaefer, head of tech policy research at Beijing-based consultancy Trivium China, told Sixth Tone. “(The 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 — and seek to get out in front of a future where algorithms are used to corrode social unity or exacerbate market problems.”