Chinese Social Credit System: the more we are watched, the better we behave (?) An analysis of the system’s historical evolution, regulatory framework and current implementation

Abstract

For the past five years, China has been working to establish a comprehensive rating system not only for its citizens, but also for Chinese businesses, social organizations, and government agencies. This system is known as the Social Credit System (社会信用体系shehui xinyong tixi, simply referred to as SCS) and its objective is to assess the “social trustworthiness” of the subjects involved. The system consists, on one hand of rewarding behaviors considered “trust-keeping” and punishing those considered “trust-breaking” on the other. Taking as starting point Jeremy Bentham’s work “The Panopticon”, a widely used metaphor for surveillance, the immediate objective of my work is to shed light on this system, starting with an analysis of surveillance practices adopted both in western countries (such as UK, US, and Italy) and in China (with references to the Chinese history). Therefore, to understand the mechanisms behind this system, attention will be given to the technologies implemented to carry out a radicalized control of society. In conclusion, some pilot programs will be taken as an example in the form of case studies in an attempt to better understand how the Chinese government is currently implementing the planned Social Credit System at the municipal level.