China’s Social Credit System: A Step Towards Dystopia? Part Two: Historical Context
In 2007, the Chinese State Council published the first policy demanding more reliable financial credit information. This document focused on the economy but its broad ideas are viewed as the starting point for a set of locally implemented social credit systems piloted over the next few years.
The most noteworthy of these was the Suining “mass credit” program which began in 2010. Under this system, everybody started with 1000 “points”. Breaking the law led to lost points — for example, a DUI was -50 points. Every person was graded from A to D based on the number of points they had. And then, the controversial piece: “A” citizens got preferential access to resources like employment opportunities, welfare, and business licenses, while “D” people were blocked from these programs and came under higher police scrutiny.
The system was eventually dropped amid negative media attention and pushback from citizens. However, with the central government’s support, it became clear that the Suining experiment would not be the only one of its kind.
The next notable point on this timeline unfolds with a rash of very negative and very visible events. Fraud, immorality, breaches, leaks, scandals — China had it all, and the spread of smartphones and social media brought it into the public eye.
In response to this, the government dedicated an entire assembly of Congress in 2011 to “culture and ideology”. Documents produced by this assembly called for a nationwide system to promote interpersonal honesty. This marks a shift in the role of the social credit system from one primarily focused on the economy to one that is involved in all of society.
These series of events set the stage for the landmark document in our story, 2014’s Planning Outline for the Construction of a Social Credit System.
Next: Part Three: 2014 Social Credit Plan
Part One: Introduction
Part Two: Historical Context
Part Three: 2014 Social Credit Plan
Part Four: Joint Punishment System
Part Five: Barriers
Part Six: Looking Ahead
