'1.4 Billion Chinese' Under Easy Control by China?…Douyin, WeChat, Baidu Algorithm Information Domination

The Chinese government has released a list of 30 IT companies that have registered their algorithms with the authorities based on the "Regulations on the Management of Algorithm Recommendation for Internet Information Services." Photo by Pixabay

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Se-eun] The Chinese government appears to be further strengthening control over content by taking control of the algorithms of 30 IT and big tech companies.

Recently, the National Cyberspace Administration of China, the country's internet regulatory agency, disclosed the list of 30 IT companies that registered their algorithms with the authorities based on the "Regulations on the Management of Algorithm Recommendation for Internet Information Services."

The list includes services used daily by 1.4 billion Chinese people, such as Tencent's WeChat, Alibaba's shopping platform Tmall, and the social networking service (SNS) Weibo.

The Regulations on the Management of Algorithm Recommendation for Internet Information Services require large internet service companies to mandatorily submit their "core algorithms" to the authorities.

The algorithms registered by these companies determine the content prioritized for exposure to customers and provide personalized information to users.

Since big tech companies' algorithms are considered trade secrets, most countries do not interfere with companies' independent algorithm settings; however, China has taken this exceptional measure.

Previously, the Chinese government ordered IT companies to focus on exposing content that can enhance patriotism. It also demanded that content containing dissatisfaction or criticism of Chinese society, as well as negative content such as disaster situations, be filtered out first.

In the past, when text and photo information were the main types of content, China controlled the internet through "censorship" and "deletion."

However, as technology advanced and the formats of content distributed in cyberspace changed, China appears to have chosen "algorithm control" as a key method to manage big data. Analysts interpret this as the Chinese government beginning an "active strengthening" of online content control.