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What is there to learn from China’s control of recommendation algorithms?
Examining the difference between a proactive versus reactive approach towards the regulation of social media
Authoritarian leaders have been watching recent events in the US and other liberal democracies closely. Cyber-interference has a covert ring to it, perhaps imagined as the hacking of key infrastructure or the scrambling of military hardware for war-time purposes. However, the reality is that much of said interference today is done using free to use social media platforms that nearly half of the global population interacts and relies upon. The ability to influence voters, sow discord, and polarise populations using the internet has never been easier – and political elites within and outside of liberal democracies know it.
China, among other authoritarian nations, is making the most of social media to advance its political prerogatives abroad. However, the country is also evolving its regulation of the internet, and specifically recommendation algorithms on social media, to counter these same threats at home. To understand how cyber-interference works through social media, we first need to understand the history and assumptions that lie behind the design of these algorithmically driven systems.
