Blog Post No.9: Social Credit Score

What if the government tracked everything you do? Every step, keystroke, and the transaction is watched and monitored. What if all of these actions affected your social standing with the government? What if the government created a system that numerically evaluated each citizen by their actions which affected their social standing? What if I told you there is a system similar to this already in place.

The Chinese government created a system to monitor its citizens. The social credit score is a system that contributes a numerical value to the trustworthiness of a person, company, or government entity. Currently, the system is run by and managed by China’s National Development and Reform Commission, the People’s Bank of China, and the country’s court system. The majority of the data is collected through traditional means; governmental, financial, and criminal records are all public records. The Chinese government also employs the use of third-party sources to gain information such as websites that have access to people’s credit scores. The Chinese government is also experimenting with new ways to gather information. Sources such as financial transactions and video surveillance are starting to be incorporated into the government’s data collection system in regard to a person’s social credit score.

 

The purpose of the social credit score is to encourage good behavior among Chinese citizens. A person with a high credit score gets perks that others do not. Some examples of benefits are breaks on taxes, discounts on government bills, the ability to rent vehicles or hotel rooms without having to make a deposit first, and better interest rates on loans from banks. Businesses with high credit scores get different perks such as less frequent inspections and audits and fast-tracked approvals for government services. It is shown that the system is mainly targeted toward businesses and companies individuals also can receive benefits or face consequences of the social credit system. For those who have high scores, the system disproportionately benefits the system. There is a big negative impact on those who have a low social credit score. People with low social credit scores have public shame, limited options for housing and hotels, limited employment options with exclusions for high-level jobs, travel bans on trains and planes, slower internet, and bans from private schools. 

Like most government programs there are flaws. There are concerns about data credibility, data protection, and invasion of privacy in China due to weak regulations and law enforcement on privacy. The most controversial aspect of the social credit system for individuals is that it tracks behavior and gives citizens a score using incomplete, or inaccurate data.

So what does this mean for Americans? Currently, there is no system like this in America. It is unlikely a system like this could be implemented due to the right to privacy. The right to privacy was inherent in the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Ninth Amendments.