The Chinese government will implement regulations governing computer big data algorithms starting in March. This clearly directed regulation aims to address the rights and interests of real-world network users and practitioners, but the vaguely worded intrusive clauses also reflect the Chinese authorities' ambition to restrict the free development of the technology industry and consolidate the state's power to control technology.
What social issues are highlighted by the new regulations?
The new law, which will be implemented from March 1, is the "Regulations on the Recommendation and Management of Internet Information Service Algorithms" issued by four departments including the Cyberspace Administration of China, which regulates and restricts network services based on big data algorithm technology.
Algorithms are an important part of big data management and computing, and are the processes and rules that computers follow in computing and problem-solving operations. "Algorithmic recommendation" refers to the process of network services and platforms using big data analysis to push, select, and filter information to users.
With the help of algorithms in the backend of big data, shopping websites such as Amazon and Alibaba can recommend products that consumers may like by analyzing their browsing habits, and video websites such as YouTube and Youku can continuously recommend videos that users may be interested in; Social media such as books, Twitter, Weibo, etc., decide which news items are presented and the priority of presentation according to the preferences of individual accounts.
Rogier Creemers, assistant professor of modern China studies at Leiden University in the Netherlands and co-founder of the "DigiChina" project at Stanford University's Cyber Policy Center, said that for large online platforms, algorithms are not only ubiquitous , is also the "secret sauce" that fulfills its function.
Taking the overseas version of TikTok, the Chinese video-sharing program Douyin, as an example, Cremers said: “The uniqueness of TikTok, the reason why users want to use TikTok, and the reason why business organizations want to advertise through it, is that TikTok is good at connecting individuals with consumption opportunities. stand up."
Through the superhuman ability of computer algorithms to process massive data, in addition to improving the experience of many users to a certain extent, it also brings about problems such as user addiction and extreme content. Low-level workers in the technology industry, etc.
Therefore, some analysts believe that China's online regulatory control reflects offline social problems.
Helen Toner, director of strategic affairs at Georgetown University's Center for Security and Emerging Technologies, said China's regulation is unique in that the Chinese government wants to make social media and audio-visual platforms the entire technology of how information is recommended to users. Process is responsible.
"What they (the Chinese government) are trying to do is govern a large class of artificial intelligence systems known as 'recommendation systems'," Toner told VOA. "These systems are broad-ranging and rarely received by the media. Follow and discuss."
China's new algorithm regulations require that when online platforms provide algorithm recommendation services to minors, the elderly, workers and consumers, they must not induce minors to indulge in the Internet, must ensure the safe use of algorithm recommendation services by the elderly, and It is necessary to "improve platform order distribution, remuneration composition and payment, working hours, reward and punishment mechanisms" for grass-roots employees of technology companies such as "Takeaway Brother".
"We can see that in the final version of the regulations, there are some clauses that talk about protections for older people," Creamers said. "Obviously when you live in a society where there are more and more silver-haired people, older people Especially vulnerable to all kinds of fraud, scams and unfair treatment related to mobile phones - and of course it's not limited to seniors. It's not a bad thing to look after the elderly."
Taking the problem of “internet traps” encountered by the elderly as an example, after the shopping website identifies that the user is an elderly person, the algorithm-based recommendation function may infer the frugality of such users and recommend low-priced and shoddy products. , some pre-installed malicious software will often be exposed to steal and resell users' personal data, violating the privacy and data rights of the elderly.
The latest "Statistical Report on the Development of China's Internet" released by the China Internet Network Information Center shows that Chinese netizens over 60 account for 12.2% of the total netizens, with a total of 123 million; According to the Internet Behavior Research Report, 51% of middle-aged and elderly people spend an average of more than 4 hours online every day.
In recent years, social problems caused by algorithms have attracted public attention in the United States. In October 2021, a former employee of the US social media giant Facebook revealed to the media that an internal research survey of the social media giant Facebook found that the use of its photo sharing product Instagram caused many young female users to be anxious and depressed. The New York Post reported that Facebook's investigation also found that images of extreme weight-loss methods circulating on Instagram led to worsening symptoms in minors with eating disorders.
"In the U.S., we're seeing, like Facebook, YouTube, algorithms that try to keep users on their sites, make you click, get your eyes locked on the news feed on it, which can lead to algorithms," Toner said. To recommend, and in some cases, recommend content that would make users aggressive if users are attracted to such content.”
"I think the U.S. example is being discussed more widely in the media, and I think China is seeing similar issues emerging," she said. "I think they're trying to address some of those issues and allow platforms to do it in a way that's never been seen before." responsible for such conduct."
Leiden University's Cremers believes that the Chinese government is well aware that it has encountered the same social problems caused by cyberspace as Western countries, but believes it can come up with a more effective approach than the Western system.
"The real targets of this regulation seem to be the giants, the big internet giants like Alibaba and Tencent," he said. "It's interesting that these regulations don't come out of nowhere...they're meant to rebalance the relationship between consumers and tech companies. relationship between.”
China's innovation environment is tightening, and the "power list" is getting longer and longer
For the development of artificial intelligence technology, data is a key resource to help computers improve their algorithmic capabilities. Because of its huge data resources, China's artificial intelligence industry was once considered to have unparalleled advantages. Some analysts believe that with the government's increasing restrictions on data processing on technology platforms, the technological development of Chinese consumer technology companies will be severely constrained.
The upcoming algorithm regulations stipulate that algorithm recommendation service providers should provide users with options that are not tailored to their personal characteristics, or provide users with a convenient option to turn off the algorithm recommendation service. That is to say, users have the right to require technology platforms to stop analyzing and tracking personal information, and have the right to require online merchants to stop using algorithms to analyze personal data and recommend products and services to users based on “preconceived” impressions.
However, critics believe that technology companies are not the only subjects in charge of big data algorithm technology - the government itself analyzes citizens' personal information and grasps the whereabouts of citizens through digital monitoring all the time. Without AI algorithm technology, "smart cities" and "city brains" Such a digital management framework model is impossible, but how the government uses algorithms is not in the least regulated.
"These rules are to some extent," Roslyn Layton, co-founder of the website China Tech Threat and senior vice president of Strand Consult, a Danish telecom industry consultancy, told VOA via email. The wording above is similar to that of European algorithm policy, reflecting the government's arrogant attitude that policymakers can adjust algorithms to improve outcomes, such as protecting consumers. Often, from a business perspective, these strategies reduce the efficiency of algorithms and reduce the end-user utility.”
Layton also pointed out: "I just want to ask, who will protect the Chinese people from the government? Who will oversee the regulator?" She said: "It is important to note that this type of policy does not apply to the government's use of processing users. Algorithms of information. The Chinese government does a lot of data processing, but there is no protection for citizens. You can’t choose not to let the government process (your data).”
Observers see China's new rules on tech companies' algorithms as a reflection of the general trend of tightening regulation of the tech industry in recent years.
People in the system have also given advice on the government's increasing involvement in emerging industries. According to Phoenix.com, Gao Xiqing, Hongtian Chair Professor at the Law School of China University of International Business and Economics and former vice-chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said at a public event in December last year that there should be sufficient constraints on government regulators to allow the market to allocate resources. play a decisive role.
He said that it is necessary to limit the government's "power list", which means that "there must be a certain scope for what the government's regulatory authorities can do, and they cannot do whatever they want."
However, the Chinese government's "power list" seems to be getting longer and longer. Last year, the Chinese government and officially regulated research institutions formulated and issued a number of documents and guidance requirements on standards and norms for the use of artificial intelligence. At the same time, the official suppression of technology companies is not relentless.
In March 2021, the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology launched the "Trusted Face Recognition Protection Plan"; in July, the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology released the "White Paper on Trusted Artificial Intelligence".
In September 2021, the Cyberspace Administration of China and other nine ministries and commissions issued the "Guiding Opinions on Strengthening the Comprehensive Governance of Internet Information Service Algorithms"; the Ministry of Science and Technology of China also issued the "New Generation Artificial Intelligence Ethics Code" in September last year; The "Comprehensive Deepening Reform Committee" adopted the "Guiding Opinions on Strengthening the Ethical Governance of Science and Technology" drafted by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China.
For those technology companies and social media that are considered by the government to overdominate the market, fail to meet safety standards, and fail to promote the main theme, the Chinese government has directly attacked and suppressed many well-known companies in a high-profile manner.
The Chinese government publicly blocked ride-hailing software company Didi Chuxing from listing on the New York Stock Exchange last year, banned Didi from registering new users in July, ordered its app off the shelves and ended a cybersecurity investigation into it. In addition, the Chinese government has almost completely banned online extracurricular education and tutoring, citing a desire to reduce student burdens and reduce childcare costs.
In September last year, Alibaba was fined a sky-high 18.2 billion yuan for alleged monopoly. In October, food delivery site Meituan was fined 3.4 billion yuan for similar charges. From January to November last year, Sina Weibo was fined 44 times, and Douban, a movie and book review site, was fined 20 times, according to The New York Times.
The online game industry with a market size of nearly 300 billion yuan has also been rectified by the authorities. State media slammed online gaming as "spiritual opium" in August last year, and the government issued an order to limit the amount of time teenagers can play online.
The road to strengthening the country through science and technology with Xi Jinping's characteristics
An expert on technology and geopolitical strategy from a well-known business consulting firm in Washington believes that, for the Chinese government, the profit of the technology industry is secondary, and the consolidation of state power is the most important, which is a must for China's technological innovation and business environment. challenges.
The analyst, who asked not to be named, said: “As you know, China does not create wealth like European and American capitalism does — not as we assume, that wealth creation is the end of the game. President Xi Jinping knows that power The accumulation of wealth is the ultimate goal, and the accumulation of wealth is only a manifestation of power.”
Some aspects of the algorithmic governance rules embody Xi Jinping’s concept of “common prosperity,” but also concern the Chinese Communist Party’s security concerns about its firmness in power, Leiden University’s Cremers said.
He said: “The idea of (co-prosperity) is to change the structure of the economy... Now that some people are getting rich quickly, it’s time for others to get rich too. Of course, there are also factors and protection of the Chinese Communist Party and its control. The regime’s vital security interests. In this really short document, you can find all kinds of examples of the many different goals that the Chinese Communist Party is trying to achieve.”
As for how the algorithm regulations are implemented and how they affect the operation of technology companies, experts say it remains to be seen. "One of the big questions in corporate governance has always been how to open that 'black box,' because companies are often reluctant to let outsiders know what's in their black box," Creamers said. "When it comes to algorithms, it's obviously worse. because the algorithm itself is the core intellectual property of the company. The question is, what does (this regulation) mean for the government to acquire this very important intellectual property.”