BEIJING: Over the past months, the US heightened its crackdown on China’s tech sector, bringing China’s many leading online technologies under public spotlight, among which is the algorithm. TikTok was reported to have rejected selling its core algorithm technology to a US firm after its parent company ByteDance said it would strictly follow the new Chinese regulations over restrictions on exports of certain technologies. Experts told the Global Times that competitive algorithm technologies of some Chinese tech giants are becoming a new target of the US in its war against China’s tech rise. China’s algorithm technology is in a leading position globally, in contrast to the domestic chip industry which is years behind that of the US. As the trade war initiated by the US has spread to other fields including the tech industry, analysts said algorithm technology has become an important factor in the tech war and the selling of algorithm to foreign countries should not be allowed as it may harm China’s national security.
Fang Xingdong, director of the Consortium of Internet and Society at the Communication University of Zhejiang, told the Global Times on Monday that algorithm technology is based on big data and China has obvious advantages in this area, especially in entertainment and lifestyle applications such as short videos, which have huge numbers of users.“No country in the world is stronger than China in this field and even the US is not an opponent,” he said. US double standards Fang told the Global Times that the TikTok algorithm is the app’s core technology and the foundation of its success. “It is TikTok’s advanced algorithm that makes its video content well organized and presented, so that it fits the tastes of global users,” he said. TikTok reportedly remained the world’s most downloaded non-gaming app in August with more than 63.3 million installations in the month. It had surpassed 2 billion downloads by April amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The US companies not only want to acquire TikTok’s algorithm but also its huge user database, said TikTok user and IT expert Zhu Yikun, who designs intelligent navigation and Internet of Things (IoT) systems for civil airports. “By fully analyzing and classifying its user data, the TikTok algorithm can build more accurate user portraits than its competitors do, and then it can have more accurate, personalized and optimized content that suits the demands of its users,” Zhu told the Global Times. He refuted the US accusation that TikTok’s algorithm threatens the country’s national security, saying it just reflects the US’ double standards.–Agencies
