Alibaba, ByteDance share details of algorithms with Beijing for first time

BEIJING • China's Internet giants from Tencent Holdings to ByteDance have shared details of their prized algorithms with Beijing for the first time, an unprecedented move aimed at curbing data abuse that may end up compromising closely guarded corporate secrets.

A list was published on Friday describing 30 algorithms that firms including Alibaba Group Holding and Meituan employ to gather data on users, tailor personal recommendations and serve up content.

While the public list did not reveal the actual code, it was not clear the extent to which Internet firms may have revealed their underlying software to regulators in private. The algorithms deciding which TikTok videos, WeChat posts and Instagram photos users see are considered the secret sauce of many online services, critical in capturing user attention and driving growth.

In March, China required Internet firms to disclose such tools, an effort to address complaints about data abuse that also helps regulators keep Internet firms on a tighter leash.

Tech industry algorithms are jealously guarded and have been at the heart of political controversies around the world.

The disclosure requirement sets China apart from countries like the US, where Meta Platforms and Alphabet have argued successfully that algorithms are business secrets, even as lawmakers and activists seek to better understand how they curate content and manage data.

"No one has ever had access to such details before," said executive director Zhai Wei of the Competition Law Research Centre at East China University of Political Science and Law in Shanghai. "Tech companies' algorithms are the key business secrets that represent their competencies."

He added that the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) for now requires only basic information from the companies, but it may seek more details to investigate allegations of data violations.

The list publication means the implementation process is going smoothly, said lawyer Ding Mengdan at Beijing Yingke law firm's Hangzhou office.

China has been tightening regulations to rein in the once-unchecked expansion of the country's tech giants.

Last year, it introduced the Personal Information Protection Law and the Data Security Law to set out tougher rules for how companies handle user data.

The list of algorithms available for public review is confined to short descriptions of how they work, and the product and use cases where they apply.

For example, ByteDance says its algorithm discerns a user's likes and dislikes to recommend content on apps including Douyin, TikTok's Chinese cousin. Meituan says its algorithms help dispatch meal orders to riders in the most efficient way based on their downtime and delivery route. TikTok, which operates outside China, is not required to share details with the CAC.

Companies must submit non-public information to the CAC. They have to assess their algorithms' security, and whether data collected includes sensitive biometric or identity information.

The CAC, which issued the guidelines with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security and the State Administration for Market Regulation, said it will keep updating the list.

BLOOMBERG