For several months now we have been listening in media that an application like this could become a reality in China soon. Well, that short time already has a release date. Next May, China will launch a “social credit” program, by which its citizens will be rated for their behavior within society.
Those who do not get good evaluations will be excluded, at least for one year, from the purchase of train and plane tickets, which will hinder their free movement within the country. We explain how it works.
As explained by the National Development and Reform Commission of China, those who have committed criminal offenses or have significant debts of money will be taken into account for their negative evaluation.
But the thing is not there, according to the news agency Reuters, will also look at what their citizens say (in this case related to transport): for example, if they have given false information about terrorism, have been problematic on flights
They have used expired tickets to travel or have been caught smoking on trains when it was prohibited. This type of action will decrease, even more if possible, the social credit preventing those people from having certain privileges that others deserve for their good behavior.
This system has been in evidence since 2012 and different cases of affected people have been heard, but since May we will have the first real experience at a national level to prove that the project works. In fact, it is expected that in 2020 it will be implemented without a temporary restriction, on a continuous basis, and that will affect more areas of society and not only transport.
Does not it remind you of a lot of Black Mirror? Yes it is true that in the first chapter of the third season where we see a similar system, it is even more restrictive than what we are proposing, since it is the same people who go to other benefits.
A climate of falsehood that, as we see in the series, forces citizens to behave in a much more false and incoherent way with their true selves. Until this point there is a lot … or not, who knows. We will see how this first attempt works.
