20 Mar ‘Black Mirror’ Social Credit System May Come to Life in China
China is reportedly extending its “social credit” scheme where reputations of individuals, businesses, and even government officials can be given a score that can either give them rewards or penalties. The program had been compared to a Black Mirror episode where the protagonist was unable to secure a plane seat due to a low social score.
The program, which had been around since 2014, is a credit system that aims to give all Chinese citizens a data trail compiled from from public and private sources by 2020. The country’s government had since been steadily expanding the system, which is searchable by fingerprints and other biometric characteristics, to cover the whole society.
The system may soon be able to reward those who do work beneficial to society with points to boost their social credit score, while those who incur debt or criticize the government will be given with low scores that will prohibit them from engaging in activities such as taking out loans, buying property, or traveling.
Source: Esquire
