Algorithms, the latest target of China regulator

China is seeking to tighten oversight of the algorithms technology companies use to drive their business, issuing far-reaching draft rules in Beijing's latest move to crackdown on its internet sector.

The Cyberspace Administration of China said in a statement that firms must abide by business ethics and principles of fairness and should not set up algorithm models that entice users to spend large amounts of money or spend money in a way that may disrupt public order. The guidelines include a proposal that users be given the option to easily turn off algorithm recommendation services, giving consumers a greater say over an area of the internet that has also been the target of authorities in the US and Europe.

“As far as I’m concerned, this policy marks the moment that China's tech regulation is not simply keeping pace with data regulations in the European Union but has gone beyond them,” said Kendra Schaefer, head of tech policy research at Beijing-based consultancy Trivium China.

The move will directly impact some of China’s biggest tech companies with shares in e-commerce giant Alibaba Group falling as much as 5.2 per cent in Hong Kong.

Algorithims are used in facial recognition tools to social media platforms.

Firms to move data from Alibaba, Tencent clouds

The Chinese city of Tianjin has asked municipally controlled companies to migrate their data from private sector operators like Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings to a statebacked cloud system by next year, according to a document seen by Reuters. The push by Tianjin, a city of roughly 14 million people, comes as China tightens controls on how companies store and manage the vast troves of data they collect.