Chinese internet giants give algorithm information to the government

Beijing 16 August : Chinese internet giants including Alibaba Tiktoks owner ByteDance and Tencent have provided the details of their software with Beijings regulators, for the first time.

They are protected by corporations that are closely guarded by companies, according to the BBC reported.In the US Meta and Alphabet have successfully argued that they are trade secrets despite calls for more transparency.

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has released the list with descriptions of 30 algorithms according to the BBC reported.In a statement, it stated it would keep its algorithm database regularly updated in an effort to reduce data misuse.

The algorithm that is listed among the others is one that belongs to the Alibabas e-commerce site Taobao which is owned by Alibaba.The Mandarin document said that Taobaos algorithm "recommends products or services to users based on their digital footprints and previous search history".

The algorithm used by ByteDance for Douyin Chinas version of TikTok It is believed to determine the users interests based on the content they click on, what they comment on, "like" or "dislike".Chinese regulators have been tightening the control over the technology industry for more than two years since the beginning of the year.

The country adopted new algorithms rules in March.They let users decide to opt out of making recommendations.

The CAC also needed algorithms with "public opinions or social mobilization capabilities" to be registered with the CAC according to the BBC reported.san/ .