TikTok Algorithms Are Much Harder to Restrict than Physical Goods, Says Prof. Steven Weber

Export controls on TikTok’s algorithm are unique but not unprecedented

By Meghan McCarty Carino

Algorithms, which are just sets of instructions expressed in code, are harder to restrict than physical goods. But governments, including the U.S., have long tried to prevent their export.

Export controls have come up a lot in recent years: The U.S., for instance, has restricted the sale of advanced semiconductors to China, which, in turn, limited exports of critical minerals to the U.S. These are goods that can be used to build strategic technologies. 

An algorithm, though, is a bit more abstract than elements dug out of the earth, said Steven Weber, a professor of the graduate school at UC Berkeley’s School of Information. 

“People say, ‘Oh, the algorithm,’ as if the algorithm is like a thing, or a widget, or like a something you could put in a box or drop on your foot,” he said. “An algorithm is none of those things.” Essentially, an algorithm is just math, he said — a set of rules or instructions. But when we talk about AI, those rules are expressed in code and can self-adjust. 

“It’s a machine-learning system,” Weber said. “And that's made up of rules that are constantly evolving based on how people interact with it.”

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