China tech giants provide details of algorithms to government for first time

The algorithms that decide which TikTok videos, WeChat posts and Instagram photos users see are considered the secret sauce of many online services,

China’s internet giants, including Tencent and TikTok-owner 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.

The internet watchdog has published a list describing 30 algorithms that firms including Alibaba and Meituan employ to gather data on users, tailor personal recommendations and serve up content. While the public list stopped short of revealing the actual code, it wasn’t clear the extent to which internet firms may have revealed their underlying software to regulators in private.