Every Chinese citizen will soon have a score based on how they live and conform | News | Geek.com

In Western countries most people understand what a credit score is. It’s a score an individual is awarded based on their assets, income, and credit history. It is a summary of how creditworthy you are and what potential risk you pose when, for example, a bank is deciding whether or not to loan you money.

In China, the government has decided to take credit scores to a whole new level, turning them more into a life score by tracking anything and everything you do. And by 2020, this score will be a mandatory part of every Chinese citizen’s life.

China’s new universal credit score system was only introduced this year and for now remains an optional system, but that changes to mandatory in less than 5 years. Unlike the Western equivalent, the Chinese version uses a lot more data to decide what an individual’s score is, with the score ranging from 350 up to 950. It’s possible to track what your score is with a free Sesame Credit app offered by Alibaba and it’s linked to a national ID card.

Now for the scary bit: what is tracked and how it affects a score.

All social networks in China are run by either Alibaba or Tencent. The government has access to all this social data, tracks it, and tweaks scores based on it. These companies are in charge of keeping your score up-to-date. Assets, income, and credit history still play a part in the scoring, but so does political opinion. If you post a negative political comment or political thoughts without permission, your score goes down. Mention a particularly sensitive issue (e.g. Tienanmen Square massacre) and expect your score to be negatively impacted even further.

If that seems extreme, well, it gets worse. You see, because the data is being tracked through social networks the government knows who all your friends are. If any of your friends post political comments, their score goes down but so does yours because you are their friend. By linking the two it is clear the government wants everyone to keep their friends from stepping out of line.

Other things that can impact a score center around how an individual lives. Hobbies can either be a good or a bad thing. If you enjoy sports that involve exercise, that’s probably going to increase your score. Video games, though? Expect to lose some points.

One final big one: shopping habits. If you buy certain products your score can increase. This suggests the government could choose to highlight certain products when it wants then to sell better with the reward being your credit score goes up. It’s also going to be a way to force people to eat more healthy foods if junk food purchases decrease a score.

It’s unclear at this early stage just how far the credit score system will go in terms of defining what Chinese citizens can and can’t do day-to-day. However, we do have some initial score thresholds that suggest where this is heading. A score of 600 or more allows you to get an $800 loan, 650+ allows you to rent a car without a deposit. 700+ fast tracks you for a Singapore travel permit, and 750+ fast tracks you for a Schengen visa. Companies will also be able to make decisions based on these scores, e.g. a hotel could let people with a score above a certain threshold reserve a room without a deposit.

In the West, such a system would be met with outrage. However, over 100,000 people in China have already started using the credit score system and are bragging about their scores online. I’m sure that won’t last, but everyone is going to have to get used to it when the system switches to mandatory use.