China’s government has started developing a “social credit system” which some observers believe will increase the collection and sharing of data about Chinese citizens, public officials and companies. Meant to improve governance and market order, the system is being tested using “blacklists” – or, in some communities, point “scores” – to incentivise citizen and corporate behaviour.
While few details have been officially released, social credit is expected to use data collection and distribution through state agencies as well as public companies and even mass-surveillance systems.
The central government’s State Council announced plans for social credit in 2014, saying a nationwide rollout of the system would happen by 2020. So far, blacklists have been used to limit travel for some, and a few dozen cities have tested local social credit scoring schemes.