China Algorithm Recommendation Regulations

Applies To

Overview

The Provisions on the Management of Algorithmic Recommendations (互联网信息服务算法推荐管理规定) were jointly promulgated by the Cyberspace Administration of China and three co-regulators on 4 January 2022 and entered into force on 1 March 2022. The Provisions apply to any provider of 'algorithmic recommendation services'-defined broadly to encompass content recommendation, search ranking, advertising targeting, push notifications, and similar automated decision mechanisms delivered via internet information services to users located in China. The regulations establish a tiered governance structure: providers that reach designated user-scale or societal-influence thresholds must register with the CAC and undergo more intensive oversight. All in-scope providers are obligated to maintain written algorithm policy documentation, conduct regular self-assessments, and submit to government audits and security reviews. The Provisions embed user-rights obligations requiring that individuals be informed when they are subject to algorithmic recommendations, offered the ability to opt out of profiling based on personal characteristics, and given access to mechanisms to correct or delete tags attached to their behavioral profiles. Providers are prohibited from deploying recommendation algorithms to disseminate unlawful content, to engage in price discrimination against users based on inferred characteristics, to exploit minor users, or to foster addictive usage patterns. Employers using algorithmic management tools for workers in gig-economy or platform-labor contexts must ensure algorithmic fairness and cannot use such systems to circumvent labor protections. The Provisions interact with China's Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL), Data Security Law (DSL), and the subsequently enacted Deep Synthesis Regulations and Generative AI Measures, forming a layered domestic AI governance architecture.

Key Requirements

• •Providers must label content delivered via algorithmic recommendation to users, clearly identifying it as algorithmically curated.
• •Users must be given an accessible mechanism to opt out of personalized recommendation and to request non-personalized alternatives.
• •Providers must maintain transparent algorithmic policy documentation and make summaries available to users.
• •Periodic self-assessments and compliance audits of recommendation algorithms are mandatory.
• •Providers meeting scale thresholds (large user base or significant public opinion influence) must register their algorithmic recommendation services with the CAC.
• •Algorithmic systems must not be used to create or spread disinformation, illegal content, or content that undermines social order.
• •Price discrimination based on user profiling is prohibited.
• •Algorithmic systems targeting minors must comply with enhanced protections and must not encourage addictive usage.
• •Platforms using algorithmic tools to manage gig or platform workers must disclose algorithmic rules to workers and protect lawful labor rights.
• •Providers must maintain logs and technical records sufficient to support regulatory inspection and incident investigation.

What Your Organization Must Do

• →Register algorithmic recommendation services with the CAC immediately if your platform meets scale thresholds for user base size or public opinion influence; assign your regulatory affairs team to determine threshold applicability and submit registration filings without delay, as the regulation has been in force since March 1, 2022.
• →Implement visible labeling on all algorithmically curated content served to users in China, and deploy an accessible opt-out mechanism for personalized recommendations, with a non-personalized alternative ready for users who decline profiling; product and engineering leads should validate these controls against the regulation's transparency requirements.
• →Draft and publish algorithmic policy documentation covering recommendation logic, content moderation rules, and user-profiling practices; legal and compliance teams must ensure user-facing summaries are written in plain language and updated whenever material changes to algorithms occur.
• →Conduct and document periodic self-assessments of all in-scope recommendation systems, covering price-discrimination risks, minor-user protections, addiction-inducing design patterns, and labor-fairness obligations for gig-worker management tools; schedule assessments at least annually and retain records to support CAC audits and security reviews.
• →Audit data practices under this regulation in coordination with PIPL and DSL obligations, ensuring behavioral profile tags can be corrected or deleted upon user request and that logs and technical records are retained in formats accessible for regulatory inspection and incident investigation.
• →Engage employment and platform-labor counsel to review algorithmic dispatch and performance-management tools used for gig workers, ensuring algorithmic rules are disclosed to workers and that no system circumvents applicable labor protections under Chinese law.

Playbook Guidance

Step-by-step implementation guidance for compliance teams.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do China's Algorithm Recommendation Regulations apply to foreign companies serving users in China?

Yes. The Provisions apply to any provider of algorithmic recommendation services delivered to users located in China, regardless of where the provider is incorporated. Foreign enterprises operating China-facing platforms, apps, or joint ventures with recommendation functionality are in scope and must comply with labeling, opt-out, and registration requirements.

Which companies must register their algorithmic recommendation services with the CAC?

Providers that meet designated thresholds for user scale or significant public opinion influence are required to register with the Cyberspace Administration of China. Smaller providers still face transparency and self-assessment obligations but are not subject to the same intensive CAC registration and oversight regime.

What does the price discrimination prohibition actually prohibit under these Provisions?

Providers are prohibited from using algorithmic recommendation systems to charge different prices to users based on inferred personal characteristics or behavioral profiles. This directly targets dynamic pricing practices that offer worse terms to users identified as less price-sensitive, a common concern on e-commerce and ride-hailing platforms.

What specific protections apply to minor users under the China Algorithm Recommendation Regulations?

Algorithmic systems targeting minors must comply with enhanced protections and are expressly prohibited from encouraging addictive usage patterns. Platforms must ensure recommendation logic applied to minors does not exploit behavioral vulnerabilities, and these obligations interact with China's broader minor-protection rules for online services.

What are the obligations for gig-economy platforms using algorithmic dispatch or performance management tools?

Platforms using algorithms to manage gig or platform workers must disclose the relevant algorithmic rules to workers and must not use such systems to circumvent applicable labor protections under Chinese law. Compliance counsel should audit dispatch and performance-management tools specifically for algorithmic-fairness and labor-rights exposure.

How do the Algorithm Recommendation Regulations relate to China's PIPL and Data Security Law?

The Provisions operate alongside the Personal Information Protection Law and the Data Security Law, forming a layered domestic AI governance framework. Behavioral profile tags used in recommendation systems must be correctable and deletable per PIPL user-rights requirements, so compliance programs should address all three instruments together rather than in isolation.