China’s 'Social Credit System' Has Caused More Than Just Public Shaming (HBO)

China is testing a new plan to urge its citizens to do more good and be more trustworthy - the Social Credit System. It’s kind of like the American credit score, except it tracks far more than financial transactions. It tracks good — and bad — deeds.

Part of the system is a neighbor watch program that's being piloted across the country where designated watchers are paid to record people's behaviors that factor into their social credit score. A high score could bring you lower interest loans and discounted rent and utility bills, but if your score is low, you can be subjected to public shaming or even banned from certain kinds of travel, life gets hard.

China's economy has exploded over the past decades, economic reforms required banks to be able to evaluate individuals looking to borrow money to buy houses or start new businesses. Fraud and excess borrowing were rampant because most people didn't really have much of a credit history. To measure its citizens' trustworthiness, in 2014, The State Council laid out a plan that aims to build a centralized database to evaluate individuals and organizations based on their financial and social behaviors.

The program is scheduled to be nationwide by 2020, which means every Chinese citizen will be tracked, scored, and receive perks and restrictions accordingly.

VICE News went to a village in one of the first pilot cities to see how the local office funnels the behaviors of 3,000 residents in this neighborhood into social credit scores.

Follow VICE News here:

[VICENews]

VICE News went to a village in one of the first pilot cities to see how the local office funnels the behaviors of 3, 000 residents in this neighborhood into social credit scores.

[andreainhere]

"Taiwan is an independent country"

-999.999.999.99 Social Credits score

[acceptable]

"I am finally a normal person."
Bruh, I really felt a strange sense of sadness when the guy said that.

[hodanali]

Bro I thought black mirror was supposed to stay as fiction

[Niko-cisw]

This is horrifying, just imagining people staring at you from the shadows gives me chills.

[DanishComrade]

Of course the guy supports the government, if he criticises the government or the system they take away 100 credit points lol

[RowOfMushyTiT]

Me: I don't like China's Social Credit System
China: Removes 100 points

[andriesgeyser]

Imagine snitching on everyone for $50 a month.
Imagine not being able to make a loan or buy a train ticket because your neighbor snitched on you for 50$ a month.

[luccar]

The system isn't about image or kindness. People start donating and doing good stuff not because they want to, but bc their score will go up, and therefore, the honesty will be no more. Fear is what, as a consequence, may prevail.

[WakoGriffin]

well obviously they all are going to say its a good system or else their score will go down

[spenceregger]

This is literally the dystopian future everyone should be frightened of.

[camarch]

In a world like this that becomes so transactional, all sense of sincerity is lost and we become a species of credit-based robots. This is awful.

[tzshchsjsjxijyo]

Memes aside, this is actually terrifying

[Sarablueunicorn]

"the man beated his wife and cracked her head...although this if a family issue.."
No, it's not. It's a crime and the man should go to jail for it and not get "social points" removed.

[ultrainstinctluffy]

Me: i don’t agree with the social credit score system

-30 000 000 social credit score

[daytripperarrabal]

Zhong Xina doesn’t like this video. That gave him +65000 social credit points. Xi says “be like Zhong Xina”.

[HeyItsMeSeb]

Social credits in 2018: public shame
Social credits in 2021/2022: *M E M E*

[Grandmsm]

This is completely ridiculous and out of hand. No matter how they paint it; this is not a good thing. I find this to be, borderline inhumane.

[olarmariusalex]

The last sentence is one of the most saddest thing I ever heard till now: I’m finally a normal person”
If a person think like this in the real life then that society is doomed!

[ArtOfLife.]

So you can donate money to get points so life becomes easier, China makes life a pay to win game.