What is the Social Credit System
The social credit system (shehui xinyong tixi) in place today in China rates the overall trustworthiness of businesses and individual citizens. It has been likened to an Orwellian dystopia similar to the one created in George Orwell's 1984 in which Big Brother is constantly watching the civilians through heavy surveillance. For years beforehand, the Chinese government had proposed a credit system some sort, but it wasn't until 2014 that the State Council put concrete plans into place with the release of a planning outline. They had aimed to create a nationwide social credit system by the year 2020, but they have yet to achieve this goal.
 |
| Click here for a visualization of the social credit system and it's effects. |
The overall idea behind the systems to "provide the trustworthy with benefits and discipline the untrustworthy...[so that] integrity becomes a widespread social value." Thus, people are given numerical ratings based on "big data" which shows how they conduct themselves in the social, economic, and commercial realms of society. There are other goals to the system than just the one mentioned above, and they are best explained by the State Council themselves. According to the planning outline:
"Accelerating the construction of a social credit system is an important basis for comprehensively implementing the scientific development view and building a harmonious Socialist society, it is an important method to perfect the Socialist market economy system, accelerating and innovating social governance, and it has an important significance for strengthening the sincerity consciousness of the members of society, forging a desirable credit environment, raising the overall competitiveness of the country and stimulating the development of society and the progress of civilizations."
Its Historical Significance
The overarching concepts which fuel the social credit system have been present in Chinese society for thousands of years. The system was influenced by Mohism and Legalism, but perhaps the most well-known influencer is Confucianism.
Confucianism is a historically eastern school of thought and some of its core theories/concepts overlap with other schools (Daoism, Buddhism, etc.). However, the founder, Confucius, promoted a strict moral code. He proclaimed that this code, if lived by, would nourish a life of peace and prosperity. The code includes Five Constants and Four Virtues:
- Benevolence (Ren)
- Righteousness (Yi)
- Ritual (Li)
- Knowledge (Zhi)
- Integrity (Xin)
- Filial Piety (Xiao)
- Loyalty (Zhong)
- Contingency (Jie)
- Justice/Righteousness (Yi)
How Scores Are Determined
At first, the credit system was only focused on financial creditworthiness (similar to our credit system in the United States), but it soon grew to encompass social and legal trustworthiness as well. A person's score is determined by the data available about them. This data is pulled from all levels of government and private entities through sharing. All these figures and stats are then compiled into "big data" algorithms which somehow process the data to come to a social credit score.
 |
| A group of people showing their credit scores (AP / Imagechina) https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/china-social-credit-system/ |
Businesses are also assigned social credit scores. Some of the questions that algorithms seek to answer when determining the score for a corporation include: "Were their taxes paid on time?," "Have they met the proper product quality standards?," and "Do they have the proper licenses to operate?" Similar financial questions are asked about individuals, but there are other more personal factors considered. In the terms of everyday life, some of what we would consider trivial things can impact an individual's social credit score. Things such as jaywalking (which is captured by traffic cameras utilizing facial recognition software), cheating in online games, and smoking in the wrong area can lower your score.
The System's Impact
For those in China who live in areas where the social credit system has been initiated there are several negative and positive effects their scores have on their lives. Those who receive a high score will be rewarded, and those with too low of a score will be punished. In 2018, there were already reports of various blacklists (both private and public) onto which people were added and restricted from doing certain things.
 |
| https://imgur.com/gallery/Kdnsbb9 |
Those with low scores are faced with slower internet, limited access to hotels and entertainment venues, and even face the risk of having their pets taken away from them. Travel bans limit the ways in which some people are allowed to travel; they are barred from using high-speed bullet trains and airplanes. Prospective students can be banned from attending certain higher education institutions if they OR their parents have a low score. Similarly, there are decreased employment opportunities as a result of the blacklists (employers often check them before hiring someone). And perhaps the most unsettling consequence for a low score is public shaming.
On the other hand, people with high social credit scores not only avoid the negative impacts but receive financial and social rewards. Those deemed trustworthy have an easier time applying for loans and credit cards. Some places even allow people to rent without having to put deposits down first. High credit scores are even used by one of China's largest online dating services called Baihe.com which boosts people's profiles once they reach a certain score.
Its Implications
For China
The social credit system has the potential to favor the rich which means it could lead to an increase in discrimination against the lower class. It is easy for the richer population to obtain rewards through the system because they are already well established (monetarily speaking) and less likely to fall into debt. A small business owner, on the other hand, is more likely to need a loan to support their business and therefore at a higher risk of falling into debt. If they do fall into debt, they could struggle to raise their score. Thus leading to punishments, which could further impede their efforts to build credit.
The credit system gives the Chinese government more control over its citizens. They say that the system provides incentives to behave, but this could also be considered to be a scare tactic. People either have to comply with the system or face consequences (some of which are irreversible). It can be draining to keep track fo everything you do and watching all the things you say, but people do it because they are too scared to live life with a low score.
 |
| Image by James Barehand (source) |
For the World
Another important thing to note is the impact China's social credit system has had on the world. People often see what's happening in China and think it's an isolated event, but this is not true. Already we've seen increased surveillance in cities like New York and London where there are thousands of cameras. But how does this relate to the social credit system? Surveillance and the cumulation of data on individual people is the start of a similar system in the Western world.
Neil M. Richards warns about the dangers of surveillance saying, "Other than the vague threats of an Orwellian dystopia, as a society we don't really know why surveillance is bad and why we should be wary of it." With the latest technological innovations has come an alarming decrease in privacy. Government and business entities now house vast amounts of information on any given person. Everyone is affected by this, and it's important to understand that increased surveillance leads to decreased civil liberties and higher risks of discrimination and coercion.
In conclusion, I believe it is important that we learn about things such as China's social credit system (which restricts individuals' freedom) and understand it because we live in a globally-connected world where ideas are exchanged at astonishing speeds. What's happening halfway across the globe can (and probably will) affect us in some way, shape, or form eventually.
No comments:
Post a Comment