Analysis of Taobao Flash Sale Algorithm Controversy: Labor Rights Protection and Efficiency Balance in the Instant Retail Industry

In 2025, the Taobao Flash Sale platform attracted widespread attention due to algorithm management issues. The core controversy lies in the serious deviation of the rider-side timer—when the system shows the 1-minute countdown ends, only 42 seconds have actually passed; these凭空 ‘disappeared’ 18 seconds instantly ignited public discussion [1]. Multiple riders reported that similar issues have long existed in the system, and distance calculation also has deviations: a 7-kilometer journey is only displayed as 6 kilometers in the system [1].

This algorithmic ‘time shrinkage’ phenomenon is not just a technical glitch. Multiple riders reflected on the Black Cat Complaint Platform that when they reported slow merchant meal preparation to the system, they were judged to have made false reports due to ‘no verified movement trajectory’, and the appeal process was extremely difficult [1]. The platform’s algorithm tends to blame riders, ignoring real-world factors like red lights, elevator waits, and slow merchant meal preparation during actual delivery.

Amidst increasingly fierce local retail competition, ‘speed’ has become the core competitiveness of major platforms. Taobao Flash Sale’s promotion of ‘fastest 19-minute delivery’ is a reflection of this competitive situation [2]. However, when this pursuit of speed goes to extremes, it becomes a ruthless squeeze on riders’ time. According to reports, the platform uses algorithms to break down the delivery process into countless data nodes, turning riders into ‘replaceable parts’ in the system [1].

The dynamic pricing model automatically adjusts delivery fees based on the supply and demand of delivery capacity; when capacity is surplus, the unit price is pressed below 3 yuan per order. The ‘service score’ assessment system directly links riders’ income to overtime rates and negative review rates, forming a vicious cycle of ‘the harder you work, the poorer you get’ [1]. This ‘deskilling’ operation deprives riders of bargaining power, leaving them only able to passively accept system instructions.

Statistics show that in 2025, the traffic accident rate of takeaway riders nationwide increased by 15% year-on-year, with 63% of violations caused by rushing for time [1]. Data from the Hangzhou Internet Court shows that in 2025, the success rate of workers in new employment form disputes was less than 15%; platforms use standard contracts and algorithmic black boxes to build a ‘firewall’ for legal evasion [1].

More worrying is the platform’s business model of ‘eating both ends’—by registering riders as ‘individual industrial and commercial households’, it avoids employer responsibilities under the Labor Law while enjoying tax incentives for small and micro enterprises [1]. Chaos in insurance further exposes the lack of platform responsibility: the 3-yuan daily mandatory accident insurance deducted by the platform often becomes ‘air insurance’ due to various exemption clauses in actual claims.

Regulators have begun to take active actions. In July 2025, the State Administration for Market Regulation issued the Guidelines for Algorithm Management of Instant Retail Platforms, clearly requiring platforms to disclose delivery time calculation rules and prohibiting the artificial compression of workers’ perceived time through technical means [1]. In December 2025, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and seven other departments jointly issued the Guiding Opinions on Protecting the Labor Security Rights and Interests of New Employment Form Workers, mandating platforms to pay work-related injury insurance for riders and establish algorithm appeal channels [1].

The recommended national standard Basic Requirements for Takeaway Platform Service Management issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation clearly limits delivery staff’s working hours: the daily order-taking time should not exceed 8 hours in principle; after reaching 8 hours, riders must confirm before continuing to take orders; after 4 consecutive hours of order-taking, a fatigue prompt should be issued and order dispatch suspended for 20 minutes [3]. Platforms shall not force or disguisedly force riders to work overtime through algorithm optimization, order rush rewards, etc.

Facing pressure, major platforms have started taking measures. Meituan announced that it will gradually cancel rider overtime deductions by the end of 2025, promoting a shift from negative punishment to positive incentives [4]. It also formally established an Algorithm Advisory Committee, composed of independent experts from law, sociology, economics, management, etc., to provide consulting guidance for algorithm improvement [4].

Ele.me signed the 2025 Annual ‘Ele.me’ Platform Algorithm and Labor Rules Agreement with riders in September, benefiting over 4 million urban riders nationwide, including clarifying rest and remuneration rights, gradually implementing overtime exemption, and optimizing route planning and order dispatch algorithms [5]. JD.com uses ‘paying social security for riders’ as a breakthrough in the takeaway market; by August 2025, JD Takeaway’s full-time riders exceeded 150,000, with all paying five social insurances and one housing fund (borne entirely by the company), averaging about 2,000 yuan per month per rider [5].

The Director of the Labor Law Research Center at Beijing Normal University suggested that platforms should establish an ‘Algorithm Ethics Committee’ with rider representatives participating in rule-making, and develop a ‘fatigue warning system’ to prevent overwork [1]. A more fundamental solution lies in reconstructing the business model—shifting from ‘scale expansion’ to ‘value sharing’ so that riders can share the dividends of technological progress through increasing delivery unit prices and optimizing order allocation mechanisms [1].

With the growth rate of e-commerce business gradually approaching the ceiling, takeaway business has become the most obvious growth path for the two giants. According to financial report data, Taobao Flash Sale drove a 25% year-on-year increase in Taobao APP monthly active users in the first three weeks of August, and drove a 30% month-on-month increase in flash sale orders of Hema and Tmall Supermarket in the third quarter [5]. Behind this rapid growth, protecting riders’ rights should also become a core competitiveness.

The 2025 takeaway war, through high-pressure competition, concentratedly exposed quality, price, and rider rights issues accumulated during the rapid development of the takeaway industry, forcing the entire industry to face and solve these problems, which is conducive to building a more sustainable and healthy ecosystem [5].

The Taobao Flash Sale algorithm controversy reveals the deep-seated contradictions accumulated in the rapid development of the instant retail industry. While pursuing efficiency, platforms need to re-examine the ultimate goal of technological progress—letting technological progress truly serve people, not trapping them in the cage of algorithms.

Consumers usually do not understand the underlying operating mechanisms; they only see takeaways delivered quickly, but do not know how much hardship riders have endured for this ‘speed’ [2]. This information asymmetry makes it harder to fundamentally solve the problem. The first takeaway industry platform algorithm and labor rules agreement born in Shanghai brings new hope for industry improvement [2].

Solving this contradiction requires joint efforts from multiple parties: regulators need to improve the legal framework; platforms need to reconstruct algorithm ethics; riders need to gain more voice; consumers also need to understand the real cost behind instant delivery. Only when the three goals of efficiency, experience, and rights are balanced can the industry achieve truly sustainable and healthy development.

[1] Sohu - “Cyber Age ‘Time Thieves’: When Taobao Flash Sale’s Algorithm Becomes a New Tool for Exploitation” (https://m.sohu.com/a/971999796_121769622)

[2] Sohu - “Algorithm Countdown ‘Shrinks’: Riders’ Time Stolen, Where Does the Balance Between Efficiency and Humanity Go?” (https://m.sohu.com/a/972088184_121850782)

[3] 36Kr - “9:1 Kr | Car Reviewer Chen Zhen Investigated for Tax Evasion, Case Details Exposed; New Takeaway National Standard” (https://m.36kr.com/p/3583359324568452)

[4] Baidu Encyclopedia - “Meituan” (https://baike.baidu.com/item/美团/5443665)

[5] 36Kr - “Spending Nearly 100 Billion, What’s Left in the Takeaway Battlefield?” (https://m.36kr.com/p/3597623458857477)