The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), China’s internet watchdog, published a document on Monday listing the algorithms owned by major tech firms such as TikTok parent Bytedance, Alibaba, and Tencent.
The Chinese government has recently begun to crack down on tech companies, and this document is part of that effort.
According to CNBC, a Douyin algorithm is used to make suggestions for users based on their “likes” and “dislikes.” Images and videos, as well as products and services, can be included.
This type of description does not reveal much about the inner workings of companies’ algorithms, nor does it reveal whether the companies have shared the code that makes up the algorithms with the government.
Companies may have given the government additional information that was not made public.
An insider contacted the Chinese embassy in London to inquire whether the government had mandated that private companies disclose source code. It took some time to respond.
Six of the thirty publicly traded companies, including Bytedance, Alibaba, and Tencent, were also contacted by Insider. Nobody responded right away.
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