"Why China’s Recent Crackdown on Tech Algorithms should bother us" 18 August 2022

Recently, Chinese technology giants have shared details of their ‘prized algorithms’ with the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC). This step by China comes with its list of setbacks and further extends the discussion going on around the privacy concerns and algorithmic politics worldwide. So far, companies in the West have kept regulators at bay, arguing their algorithms are trade secrets. But for how long?

CAC released a list of 30 algorithms alongside a brief description of their purpose from companies including Alibaba and Tencent. Earlier in 2022, China brought in a law to govern the way tech companies use recommendation algorithms. 

Data is attractive. It can be sold, used to observe ongoing trends and even decide whom to buy out next. It’s a vital tool for business. Unfortunately, in the battle between IT companies and the government to commodify as much data as possible, user privacy gets caught in a crossfire.

Tech companies’ secret ingredient: Algorithms

The algorithm by ByteDance for ‘Douyin’, the Chinese version of TikTok, is used for recommending graphics, videos, products and services that may interest users through behavioural data such as clicks and likes. The algorithm for ‘Taobao’, Alibaba’s Chinese marketplace, recommends content on their app according to a user’s search data history. 

These AI-driven recommendation algorithms are highly valuable trade secrets that have come to govern everyday life in China and elsewhere, determining what people watch, and buy and the routes that delivery workers operate through.

The privacy concerns of IT firms handing out information to governments goes far beyond Alibaba or China. Once governments access data owned by companies, they can leverage it several ways. They could combine data from multiple sources to better understand and target individuals and better interpret inter- and intrapersonal dynamics between people. [...]