Is Social Credit coming for us?

Photo by Prateek Katyal on Unsplash

People like to criticize China for its Social Credit system and think that it can’t happen where they are.

But it can. In fact, it has.

First of all: How do we define social credit? It is a method by which the behavior of individuals is tracked, evaluated, and assigned scores that may limit the actions they can take. Or reward them.

In China, things like financial transactions, social interactions, and online activity are tracked. Those with low scores, face all sorts of restrictions—for example, loan approval, travel, job opportunities, housing, and a limit on the educational opportunities available to those with lower social credit scores.

In June 2014, the National Development and Reform Commission of China issued a State Council Notice initiating the development of a program to “raise the honest mentality and credit levels of the entire society,” “build a Socialist harmonious society,” and “encourage keeping trust and punish breaking trust.” A Chines…