Click-through: How Would You Do Under China’s Social Credit System?

Ever wondered what it’s like to live in a dystopian Black Mirror episode where you can’t ride a train, are banned from leaving the country, and have every aspect of your financial status closely monitored? Well, now you can! Sort of.

We’ve already debunked some of the spurious myths and highlighted some of the worrying elements surrounding China’s apparently cohesive and terrifying social credit system. Some of that very debunking was done with the help of the people at China Law Translate, a site doing… well, pretty much what it sounds like, but also attempting to showcase the reality of China’s legal system.

And now, CLT have put together a survey based on the main tenets of the social credit program operating in Rongcheng, Shandong province, allowing those of us who don’t live in that corner of northeastern China to click through and see what kind of social credit rating we’d get — and what impact it would have on our day-to-day lives.

Here’s an example of the kinds of questions you can expect (yes we left our answers blank here while taking this screenshot…):

This survey is meant primarily as entertainment, but is also meant to be informative, showing what variables are considered in one of the best known ‘point’ systems of China’s emerging social credit system. Rongcheng residents don’t actually complete forms like this, but instead the data is entered from government sources, and by a crew of volunteers with clipboards who go around asking about good and bad deeds.”

Ready? Click-through to China Law Translate here to start your journey into the social credit dystopia….

More background on China’s social credit system:

Into the Black Mirror: The Truth Behind China’s Social Credit System

Is China's Social Credit System a dystopian rating program for all citizens, or something less sinister?

Article Jan 21, 2019