Social Credit System in China and its implications

I recently watched a show on Netflix called Black Mirror, episode Nosedive, where people’s daily behavior and activities were constantly monitored and evaluated to give them a personal social score that had severe socioeconomic consequences. The lead character from the episode got a higher rating every time she was friendly and helpful and it elevated her to a higher social status with certain perks.

The Chinese government proposed a similar idea known as the “Social Credit System” in 2014. It aims to reinforce the idea that “keeping trust is glorious and breaking trust is disgraceful”. This Social Score would be made public and would be used to establish your trustworthiness. It is slated to go nationwide by 2020 and would be mandatory for all citizens, local governments, and companies.

The Chinese government is currently performing a test run of this plan. One such program called Sesame Credit, a subsidiary of Chinese retail giant Alibaba. It has a feature called Alipay much like any credit card, that people use not only to buy things online but also for restaurants, taxis, school fees, cinema tickets and even to transfer money to each other. Sesame Credit has also teamed up with other companies in China like Didi Chuxing, the ride-hailing company, and Baihe, the country’s biggest online matchmaking service, and therefore has…