EOTO #2: China's Social Credit Score System

For my EOTO Post, I decided to discuss China's Social Credit System. This system is a government initiative that is used for monitoring, evaluating, and influencing the lives of individuals in China. It's a complex system that incorporates financial transactions, social media activity, legal records, and more, to generate a score for each citizen. In other words, it is a moral ranking. 

The Social Credit System assigns scores not only based on criteria such as financial responsibility, but even social behavior, and adherence to laws and regulations. Individuals with higher scores are rewarded with privileges. This system was launched in 2014 as a way to enforce the idea that citizens are properly behaved. The maximum score an individual can have can go up to 1,300 and the lowest being 600. For the most part, this system is pretty equalized throughout any age, race, gender or social class. All the tasks that could lead to raising your score are open and accessible to everyone, like helping the poor or engaging in charity work. The only disadvantage could be to the elderly, as they have more trouble moving around and doing physical activity. In addition, older people may not have social media, which could be an advantage and disadvantage. Access to loans, better employment prospects, and discounted services are just some benefits to completing positive tasks. On the other hand, those with lower scores may face penalties such as restrictions on travel, exclusion from jobs, and limited access to public services by doing things like spreading rumors online or not visiting your parents regularly. These actions can lower your score exponentially and have an affect on your daily accessibility. 

This system raises concerns about privacy invasion, government control, and the potential for abuse. It’s possible that this Social Credit System could lead to a society where conformity is enforced through all of the surveillance. Although actions like engaging in charity work or helping the poor are positively influential deeds, others seem extremely forced. For example, praising the government on social media clearly is just a tactic for the government to manipulate citizens to believe that what they are doing is good for society. This social credit system clearly raises many concerns. However, on the upside, it could be argued that forcing citizens to complete these tasks will benefit each individual in their own ways, by doing what is morally correct. it could encourage trustworthiness and social responsibility, ultimately creating a more harmonious and settled society.

Personally, I would not like living in a system like this. I would feel like I am being controlled, manipulated and monitored. I feel as though this credit score system violates various personal rights, as your every move is watched. This would affect me very negatively. I understand the potential upside of trying to form a society that is united, well-behaved and contributes to society. However, the system seems extremely forced. In my opinion, forcing citizens to be under heavy surveillance will only make them feel the urge to rebel. Grown adults should not have to be babysat like that. I couldn’t imagine how the people in China feel about this. I wonder if they also think it is absurd or if this is what they think normal life is.

https://www.businessinsider.com/china-social-credit-system-punishments-and-rewards-explained-2018-4

https://www.wired.com/story/china-social-credit-system-explained/