According to the latest reports, recently, the Chinese government has announced that it is developing a social credit system that evaluates citizens based on their behaviours, including considering what types of products they buy on the internet.
Black Mirror’s Scary Social Credit Score Is Becoming A Reality In China
It looks like a Black Mirror episode, but it’s real life: China is developing a social credit system that evaluates citizens based on their behaviours, including considering what types of products they buy on the internet. The government announced on Friday (16) that, from May, those who have low scores will be prevented from travelling by plane or train.
As the BBC explains, a citizen’s note takes into account whether a person pays his/her taxes on time, whether his/her academic titles are legitimate, among other data. The social credit system also opens up space for companies to issue their scores. Eight companies participate in the pilot project, including Alibaba’s Sesame Credit, allowing a citizen’s purchases to influence the platform.
This means that a person who has late fines or an employer who does not pay social security will have transportation restrictions similar to those who spread false information about terrorism or attempted to use expired tickets, for example. It is a unified system, which can generate harsh penalties for those who do not have a good score.
Officially, the restrictions come into force in China on May 1. Still, the Reuters news agency says there are indications that the social credit system has been used by the government for quite some time: in early 2017, 6.15 million Chinese were banned from taking flights for committing “social crimes”.
So, what do you think about this? Simply share all your views and thoughts in the comment section below.
