Listen to the following podcast for the background behind the Chinese social credit system.
Background
The social credit system is positioned as an issue of trust. With no equivalent of FICO scores, China decided to use 30-50 behavioral variables, not just money, to determine someone’s trustworthiness.
The vision behind it is to create a “harmonious society.” It is government initiated, but many companies now support the idea. The benefit is deemed greater than the cost, and the public in China does not expect the same level of privacy as Americans do.
System Details
The current system in China is being tested, with everyone starting at 1000 points. It is graded from A-F, with C being a warning.
Eight credit bureaus are involved and collect information on citizens.
Things that affect scores: online shopping behaviors, education, payment histories, debt, putting garbage out correctly, public and online behavior, and crime.
Of course, people who have high scores support the system, while those who are blacklisted may be stuck there indefinitely.
What do you think? Are the benefits greater than the costs? Does it create a more equitable or corrupt system? Would something like this be possible in America? Respond in the comments below.
References:
Ma, A. (2018). China has started ranking citizens with a creepy ‘social credit’ system — here’s what you can do wrong, and the embarrassing, demeaning ways they can punish you. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/china-social-credit-system-punishments-and-rewards-explained-2018-4#a-prototype-blacklist-already-exists-and-has-been-used-to-punish-people-8
Smith, S. V., & Garcia, C. (Byline). (2018). China Tests a ‘Social Credit Score’ [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2018/10/31/662436265/china-tests-a-social-credit-score
Smith, S. V., & Garcia, C. (Byline). (2018). What It’s Like to be on the Blacklist in China’s New Social Credit System [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2018/10/31/662696776/what-its-like-to-be-on-the-blacklist-in-chinas-new-social-credit-system
Wang, E., Garcia, C., & Smith, S. V. (Hosts). (2018). China’s Social Credit System [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2018/10/09/655921710/chinas-social-credit-system
Cheung, M. (2018). Understanding China’s Social Credit System. Retrieved from https://www.emarketer.com/content/understanding-chinas-social-credit-system.