Authoritarianism in the Age of Big Data: Implications of the Social Credit System on Social Control in China

My presentation will be a condensed version of my IGS thesis and will explore the implications of the Chinese government’s proposed Social Credit System (社会信用体系) on social governance in China. The Social Credit... [ view full abstract ]

My presentation will be a condensed version of my IGS thesis and will explore the implications of the Chinese government’s proposed Social Credit System (社会信用体系) on social governance in China. The Social Credit System, which many western media outlets have compared to ‘Big Brother 2.0,’ or ‘real-life Black Mirror,’ is a key component in the Chinese government’s national (Internet Plus 互联网+) reform strategy to create a digital, data-based society. It is your average bank credit rating system with a twist. It is a centralized system that mines personal digital data and assigns credit ratings to citizens, not only based on their financial accountability, but also based on their ability to comply with legal, moral, professional and ethical standards. Individuals are then subjected to a nationally unified system of punishments and rewards based on their ‘trustworthiness ratings’ which may determine privileged or limited access to employment and educational opportunities, modes of transportation, and specific commercial transactions. The Chinese Social Credit System is a fascinating area of study, because it is unprecedented in its scale (China has more than 731 million internet users) and its informational access (China lacks a comprehensive laws on informational privacy and access). There is potential for both immense benefit and damage for Chinese society. My presentation will look at not only the system's developmental progress but methods by which the Chinese government has and will continue to employ it for social control purposes.