From penalising irresponsible dog owners to blacklisting dissenters, critics warn China’s social credit system enables authorities to define “desirable and undesirable behaviour” and could allow unprecedented control of citizen’s lives. The fledgling initiative has sparked fears the authoritarian state is tightening its grip on an already heavily monitored public, ensuring that only those strictly adhering to Communist Party values can prosper. The scheme, which China’s State Council wants to roll out nationwide by 2020, aims to assess individual actions across society effectively standardising conduct through rewards and deterrents.
