Provisions on the Administration of Algorithm Recommendation in Internet Information Services
📑 Legal hierarchy: Level 3 · Departmental rule | Issuance: CAC, MIIT, MPS, SAMR (four-ministry joint issuance) | Effective: 2022-03-01 | Character: hard law
⚠️ Hierarchy note: This instrument is a departmental rule, jointly issued by four ministries. It is not a State Council administrative regulation. See Index of Chinese Rules.
English Summary
Section titled “English Summary”The Provisions on the Administration of Algorithm Recommendation in Internet Information Services (《互联网信息服务算法推荐管理规定》), jointly issued by CAC, MIIT, MPS, and SAMR on 2022-01-04 and effective 2022-03-01, is China’s foundational regulation on algorithmic systems — pre-dating the dedicated deep-synthesis and generative-AI rules by one to two years. Its scope is broad: generation-synthesis, personalized push, ranking, search-filtering, and scheduling-decision algorithms are all covered. The Provisions establish the Algorithm Registry (算法备案系统) — a public filing system that subsequently became the compliance scaffolding reused by the 2022 Deep Synthesis Provisions and 2023 Generative AI Interim Measures. Article 17 introduced a world-first user right: the option to turn off algorithmic recommendation entirely, with immediate effect.
Overview
Section titled “Overview”The Algorithm Recommendation Provisions are the infrastructural statute of Chinese AI governance —
- They were not drafted specifically for AI (when drafting began in 2021, generative AI had not yet become the focal public concern), but the algorithmic filing (备案) system they built has become the compliance anchor for every subsequent AI rule.
- They regulate “algorithms” rather than “AI” per se, reaching well beyond generative AI to conventional recommender systems, content ranking, and search filtering.
- The Article 17 “user may disable algorithmic recommendation” right is a first of its kind globally, and has drawn extensive international scholarly attention.
Five categories of algorithm covered (Article 2):
- Generation-synthesis — later taken up by the Deep Synthesis Provisions and the Generative AI Measures.
- Personalized push — the main carrier of feeds and video streams.
- Ranking and selection — e-commerce and search results.
- Search-filtering — search engines.
- Scheduling-decision — order dispatch in food delivery, ride-hailing, and similar services.
Subjects: network information service providers that use algorithmic recommendation. Territory: services provided within China.
Core Duties
Section titled “Core Duties”General duties (on all algorithm-recommendation service providers)
Section titled “General duties (on all algorithm-recommendation service providers)”- Mainstream value orientation: providers shall uphold mainstream values and actively disseminate positive content.
- No unlawful use of algorithms: providers shall not use algorithms to carry out monopolistic conduct or unfair competition.
- Sound management systems: user registration, information-publishing review, data and personal-information protection, anti-telecom-fraud, etc.
- Security assessment and filing obligations (for services with “public opinion attributes or social mobilization capacity”):
- Filing (备案): through the “Internet Information Service Algorithm Registry System.”
- Security assessment: per the relevant national rules.
- Periodic review of algorithmic mechanisms and logic, models, data, and application outputs.
User rights (Articles 16–21, headline provisions)
Section titled “User rights (Articles 16–21, headline provisions)”- Right to be informed: conspicuously notify users that the service uses algorithmic recommendation.
- Right of choice (Article 17, the signature provision):
- offer users an option not targeted at their personal characteristics, or
- offer a convenient option to turn off algorithmic recommendation;
- where the user elects to turn it off, the provider shall cease provision immediately.
- Protection of special groups:
- Minors: shall not be pushed information that may harm their physical or mental health; products and services suitable for their physical and mental health shall be provided.
- Older persons: providers shall give full consideration to their needs; shall not use algorithms to practice “big-data price discrimination.”
- Workers: platforms providing algorithmic recommendation services to workers shall protect workers’ lawful rights and interests, refining algorithms for order allocation, remuneration composition, working hours, and similar (the delivery-rider clause).
- Consumer rights: providers shall not use algorithms to impose unreasonable differential treatment on consumers regarding transaction prices or other conditions (the “big-data price discrimination” prohibition).
Enforcement and Penalties
Section titled “Enforcement and Penalties”- Competent authorities: CAC leads; MIIT, MPS, and SAMR coordinate (joint issuance by four ministries implies joint enforcement).
- Penalty ladder: warning → public reprimand → order to rectify → fine (RMB 10,000–100,000) → suspension of operations → app de-listing.
- Serious cases: revocation of permits; criminal liability where conduct constitutes a crime.
Relationship with Other Rules
Section titled “Relationship with Other Rules”- Cybersecurity Law (CSL): the upstream statute providing enforcement and penalty bases.
- Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL): the operational anchor for Article 24 (automated decision-making); the specialized rule in the algorithm-recommendation scenario.
- Deep Synthesis Provisions (2023): the “generation-synthesis” category of these Provisions’ Article 2(1) was taken over and refined by the Deep Synthesis Provisions, which retain the filing procedure. See deep-synthesis-provisions.
- Generative AI Interim Measures (2023): the filing and security-assessment duties for generative AI services directly cite these Provisions. See generative-ai-interim-measures.
- Anti-Monopoly Law: Article 17’s anti-unfair-competition clauses intersect with this rule’s anti-monopolistic-algorithm clauses.
Debates and Commentary
Section titled “Debates and Commentary”- Operationalization of the “user may turn off recommendation” right: the opt-outs offered by platforms are often deeply buried or accompanied by feature degradation (e.g., browsing disabled once turned off). Formal compliance is met, substantive avoidance is common.
- Transparency of filing (备案): publicly disclosed fields are limited (algorithm name, filing number, primary use); algorithmic logic and parameters are not disclosed, limiting the filing’s role as a public-oversight mechanism.
- “Mainstream value orientation” as a qualitative duty: provisions such as Article 6 demand that algorithms disseminate mainstream values — a requirement effectively non-testable at the engineering level; in practice it functions as a residual basis for liability.
- Challenges enforcing the platform-worker clauses: the delivery-rider / ride-hailing clauses (Article 20) exhibit significant variation in enforcement across localities; Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen pilots have adopted different approaches.
- Interface with PIPL Article 24: both address automated decision-making, but PIPL emphasizes individual rights (refusal of purely automated decisions) while these Provisions emphasize provider duties; how the two combine is an interpretive question.
Source Text and Translations
Section titled “Source Text and Translations”| Language | Source | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese (original) | CAC | cac.gov.cn |
| Chinese (archived copy) | This site | algorithm-recommendation-provisions-2022-01-04.html |
| English | Stanford DigiChina (Rogier Creemers et al.) | digichina.stanford.edu/work/…effective-march-1-2022 |
| English (draft for comment) | China Law Translate | chinalawtranslate.com/algorithm-regulation-draft |
| English (structured) | Regulations.AI | regulations.ai/…/PAARIXX-2021 |
Version History
Section titled “Version History”| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2021-08-27 | Draft for public comment released |
| 2021-12-31 | Signed by all four ministries |
| 2022-01-04 | Officially released |
| 2022-02-25 | Algorithm Registry system went online |
| 2022-03-01 | Effective |
| 2026-04-21 | First archived on this site |
Cited Sources
Section titled “Cited Sources”Primary
Section titled “Primary”- Official text: https://www.cac.gov.cn/2022-01/04/c_1642894606364259.htm
- Four-ministry joint issuance notice: https://www.cac.gov.cn/2022-01/04/c_1642894606258238.htm
- Press Q&A: https://www.cac.gov.cn/2022-01/04/c_1642894606594726.htm
- Algorithm Registry launch notice: https://www.cac.gov.cn/2022-02/25/c_1647395666889023.htm
Major commentary
Section titled “Major commentary”- Carnegie Endowment “What China’s Algorithm Registry Reveals about AI Governance”: https://carnegieendowment.org/posts/2022/12/what-chinas-algorithm-registry-reveals-about-ai-governance
- Carnegie “Tracing the Roots of China’s AI Regulations” (Matt Sheehan): https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2024/02/tracing-the-roots-of-chinas-ai-regulations
- CSIS Interpret “Algorithmic Recommendations Can Finally Be Turned Off”: https://interpret.csis.org/translations/algorithmic-recommendations-can-finally-be-turned-off-chinas-provisions-are-a-world-first/
Official expert commentary (compilation)
Section titled “Official expert commentary (compilation)”- Compilation of expert commentaries (Tsinghua, Renmin, Peking University scholars included): https://www.cac.gov.cn/2022-01/05/c_1642983970927235.htm
Cite this page (generated 2026-04-21):
Comparative AI. Commentary on the Provisions on the Administration of Algorithm Recommendation in Internet Information Services. Accessed YYYY-MM-DD. https://comparativeai.org/rules/china/algorithm-recommendation-provisions/