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Carnegie Endowment research
webCredibility Rating
4/5
High(4)High quality. Established institution or organization with editorial oversight and accountability.
Rating inherited from publication venue: Carnegie Endowment
Useful case study for AI governance researchers examining early real-world regulatory mechanisms for algorithmic oversight, particularly as comparative policy frameworks for AI governance are being developed globally.
Metadata
Importance: 52/100blog postanalysis
Summary
This Carnegie Endowment commentary analyzes China's mandatory algorithm registration system created under the 2022 CAC regulation on recommendation algorithms. By examining the registry's instruction manual and public filings from major platforms like Tencent, Alibaba, and Bytedance, the authors reveal how China is attempting to build regulatory tools that give oversight bodies meaningful insight into algorithmic functioning—a challenge that will soon face governments worldwide.
Key Points
- •China's 2022 regulation on recommendation algorithms mandated registration of algorithms with 'public opinion characteristics' and 'social mobilization capabilities' with the CAC.
- •The first batch of 30 algorithm registrations was released in August 2022, covering major platforms including Tencent, Alibaba, and Bytedance.
- •The registry attempts to address whether regulators can gain meaningful insight into algorithm functioning and ensure compliance with acceptable bounds.
- •Regulatory provisions addressed both information dissemination risks (national security, public interest) and social issues like dangerous labor conditions for delivery workers.
- •China's experiment offers early lessons for other governments grappling with how to build practical oversight tools for AI systems.
Cited by 1 page
| Page | Type | Quality |
|---|---|---|
| China AI Regulatory Framework | Policy | 57.0 |
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Source: Getty
Commentary
## What China’s Algorithm Registry Reveals about AI Governance
The registry's user manual reveals China's approach to regulating the latest tech front: the algorithms that power the biggest internet companies.
Link Copied
By [Matt Sheehan](https://carnegieendowment.org/people/matt-sheehan) and Sharon Du
Published on Dec 9, 2022
For the past year, the Chinese government has been conducting some of the earliest experiments in building regulatory tools to govern artificial intelligence (AI). In that process, China is trying to tackle a problem that will soon face governments around the world: Can regulators gain meaningful insight into the functioning of algorithms, and ensure they perform within acceptable bounds?
One particular tool deserves attention both for its impact within China, and for the lessons technologists and policymakers in other countries can draw from it: a mandatory registration system created by China’s internet regulator for recommendation algorithms.
Although the full details of the registry are not public, by digging into its online instruction manual, we can reveal new insights into China’s emerging regulatory architecture for algorithms.
### The Registry’s Founding
The algorithm registry was created by China’s 2022 [regulation on recommendation algorithms](http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2022-01/04/content_5666429.htm) (English [translation](https://www.chinalawtranslate.com/en/algorithms/)), which came into effect in March of this year and was led by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC). China’s algorithm regulation has largely focused on the role recommendation algorithms play in disseminating information, requiring providers to ensure that they don’t “endanger national security or the social public interest” and to “ [give an explanation](https://digichina.stanford.edu/work/experts-examine-chinas-pioneering-draft-algorithm-regulations/)” when they harm the legitimate interests of users. Other provisions sought to address monopolistic behavior by platforms and [hot-button social issues](https://carnegieendowment.org/2022/11/02/how
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