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China'socialcredit':Beijingsetsuphugesystem
ByCeliaHatton
BBCNews,Beijing
26October2015 China

Inmostcountries,theexistenceofacreditsystemisn'tcontroversial.Pastfinancial
informationisusedtopredictwhetherindividualswillpaytheirmortgagesorcreditcard
billinthefuture.
ButChinaistakingthewholeconceptafewstepsfurther.TheChinesegovernmentisbuilding
anomnipotent"socialcredit"systemthatismeanttorateeachcitizen'strustworthiness.
By2020,everyoneinChinawillbeenrolledinavastnationaldatabasethatcompilesfiscaland
governmentinformation,includingminortrafficviolations,anddistilsitintoasinglenumber
rankingeachcitizen.
Thatsystemisn'tinplaceyet.Fornow,thegovernmentiswatchinghoweightChinese
companiesissuetheirown"socialcredit"scoresunderstateapprovedpilotprojects.
OneofthemosthighprofileprojectsisbySesameCredit,thefinancialwingofAlibaba.With400
millionusers,Alibabaistheworld'sbiggestonlineshoppingplatform.It'susingitsunique
databaseofconsumerinformationtocompileindividual"socialcredit"scores.

Usersareencouragedtoflaunttheirgoodcreditscorestofriends,andevenpotentialmates.
China'sbiggestmatchmakingservice,Baihe,hasteamedupwithSesametopromoteclients
withgoodcreditscores,givingthemprominentspotsonthecompany'swebsite.
"Aperson'sappearanceisveryimportant,"explainsBaihe'svicepresident,ZhuanYirong."But
it'smoreimportanttobeablemakealiving.Yourpartner'sfortuneguaranteesacomfortablelife."
MoreandmoreofBaihe's90millionclientsaredisplayingtheircreditscoresintheirdating
profiles,doingawaywiththeideathatacreditscoreisaprivatematter.
However,SesameCreditwillnotdivulgeexactlyhowitcalculatesitscreditscores,explaining
thatitisa"complexalgorithm".
ThecompanyrefusedtogiveaninterviewtotheBBC,citingconcernsthatthegovernment
wouldrefusetograntapermanentlicencetoissuecreditscoresifitengagedwiththeforeign
media.
Instead,theirspokeswomanissuedastatement,discountingpersistentrumoursthatthe
organisationmonitorsusers'socialmediaactivitywhenassessingtheirsocialcredit.
SesameCredittracks"financialandconsumptionactivitiesofourusers,andmaterialspublished
onsocialmediaplatformsdonotaffectourusers'personalSesameCreditscore,"explained
spokeswomanMirandaShek.

REUTERS

SesameratestheonlinefinancialtransactionsofthoseusingAlibaba'spaymentsystem,in
additiontodataitobtainsfromitspartnersincludingthetaxiserviceDidiKuaidi,ratingwhether
usersbotheredtosettletaxipayments.
Controversially,thecompanydoesnothidethatitjudgesthetypesofproductsshoppersbuy
online.
"Someonewhoplaysvideogamesfor10hoursaday,forexample,wouldbeconsideredanidle
person,andsomeonewhofrequentlybuysdiaperswouldbeconsideredasprobablyaparent,
whoonbalanceismorelikelytohaveasenseofresponsibility,"LiYingyun,Sesame's
technologydirectortoldCaixin,aChinesemagazine,inFebruary.

TheChineseauthoritiesarewatchingthepilotprocessverycarefully.Thegovernmentsystem
won'tbeexactlythesameastheprivatesystems,butgovernmentofficialsarecertainlytaking
cuesfromthealgorithmsdevelopedundertheprivateprojects.

GETTYIMAGES

AlengthyplanningdocumentfromChina'seliteStateCouncilexplainsthatsocialcreditwill
"forgeapublicopinionenvironmentthattrustkeepingisglorious",warningthatthe"newsystem
willrewardthosewhoreportactsofbreachoftrust".
Detailsontheinnerworkingsofthesystemarevague,thoughitisclearthateachcitizenand
Chineseorganisationwillberated.Alonglistofpeopleincertainprofessionswillfaceparticular
scrutiny,includingteachers,accountants,journalistsandmedicaldoctors.Thespeciallisteven
includesveterinariansandtourguides.
Anationaldatabasewillmergeawidevarietyofinformationoneverycitizen,assessingwhether
taxesandtrafficticketshavebeenpaid,whetheracademicdegreeshavebeenrightlyearned
andeven,itseems,whetherfemaleshavebeeninstructedtotakebirthcontrol.
Criticssaythesocialcreditsystemis"nightmarish"and"Orwellian".However,somebelievethat
somekindofcreditsystemisbadlyneededinChina.
"Manypeopledon'townhouses,carsorcreditcardsinChina,sothatkindofinformationisn't
availabletomeasure,"explainsWenQuan,abloggerwhowritesabouttechnologyandfinance.
"Thecentralbankhasthefinancialdatafrom800millionpeople,butonly320millionhavea
traditionalcredithistory."

'Veryconvenient'
Creditsystemsbuildtrustbetweenallcitizens,WenQuansays.
"Withoutasystem,aconmancancommitacrimeinoneplaceandthendothesamethingagain
inanotherplace.Butacreditsystemputspeople'spasthistoryontherecord.It'llbuildabetter
andfairersociety,"shepromises.
InatrendyneighbourhoodindowntownBeijing,manywereenthusiasticwhenaskedabouttheir
SesameCreditratings,proudlydisplayingthemontheirmobilephones.

"Itisveryconvenient,"oneyoungwomansmiled."WebookedahotellastnightusingSesame
Creditandwedidn'tneedtoleaveacashdeposit."
Sesamehaspromotedtheconsumerbenefitsofagoodcreditscore,fromaprominentdating
profileontheBaihematchmakingsitetoVIPreservationswithhotelsandcarrentalcompanies.
AmobilephonegamedesignedbySesameCreditencouragesuserstoguesswhetherthey
havehigherorlowercreditscoresthantheirfriends,encouragingeveryonetoopenlysharetheir
ratings.
Butfewpeopleseemedtounderstandthatabadscorecouldhurttheminthefuture,preventing
themfromreceivingabankloanorsigningalease.
And,evenmoreconcerning,manydidn'tknowtheywerebeingratedbySesameatall.Fornow,
thepilotcreditsystemisvoluntary,thoughit'sdifficulttocircumvent.Onlineshoppingisapartof
lifeinmodernChinesecitiesandAlibaba'sfinancialpaymentserviceisubiquitous.
"WerepeatedlyremindourcustomersthatusingSesameCreditisvoluntary,"explainsthe
matchmakingsite'svicepresident,ZhuanYirong.
"Butpeoplereallycareabouttrustandhonesty.Alibaba'sdatacanprovidecertainkindofproof.
It'snot100%accurate,butatleastit'sonemorefilterforpeopletoknoweachotherbetter."
Perhapsitisgoodforallcitizenstolearnquicklyabouttheconceptofa"socialcredit"score,
whileitisstillpartlyvoluntary.Withinfiveyears,thegovernment'smandatorysystemwillrank
everyonewithinChina'sborders.

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