Calling on the Third-party Privacy Control into Algorithmic Governance Framework: Linking Users' Presumed Influence with Control Agency Theory.

This article investigates the factors influencing users' support for third-party proxy control—such as government, legislature, and industry associations—in algorithmic privacy governance, focusing on a Chinese sample of 661 adult algorithmic media users. It finds that users' algorithm awareness, defined as their understanding of how algorithms function and impact privacy, significantly predicts their perception of algorithmic privacy risks to themselves and vulnerable groups (elders and minors), which in turn mediates their support for third-party privacy control. The study also reveals that users' trust in platform privacy policies moderates this relationship, with higher trust amplifying concern for others' privacy risks and support for external regulation. These findings contribute to the theoretical integration of the Influence of Presumed Influence (IPI) model and control agency theory in the context of algorithmic privacy, highlighting the socio-psychological processes behind public demand for state-led privacy governance, particularly within the cultural and regulatory environment of China.