China Looks To Quell Dissent With 'Citizen Scores,' A Number That Tracks Purchases, Opinions And Social Circles
from the not-free-men/women;-just-numbers dept
China's plan to control the hearts, minds and internet connections of its citizens continues unimpeded. That's the great thing about authoritarian regimes: rollout of mandatory programs is usually only a problem of logistics, not opposition.
The Chinese government has mandated a rating system for all of its connected citizens. It looks like a credit rating but goes much deeper than just tying a measurement of financial risk to a number. It's a way of defining who someone in terms of the government's desires and aims. And its desires aren't all that honorable.
Everybody is measured by a score between 350 and 950, which is linked to their national identity card. While currently supposedly voluntary, the government has announced that it will be mandatory by 2020...This is where all the government's moves towards greater control of the internet comes to fruition. To keep "score," the government needs to tie IDs to online activity. Keeping the internet within the government's walls makes it that much easier. But it's not just online activity that will affect "citizen scores." It's almost every aspect of their lives.
In addition to measuring your ability to pay, as in the United States, the scores serve as a measure of political compliance. Among the things that will hurt a citizen’s score are posting political opinions without prior permission, or posting information that the regime does not like, such as about the Tiananmen Square massacre that the government carried out to hold on to power, or the Shanghai stock market collapse.
Also used to calculate scores is information about hobbies, lifestyle, and shopping. Buying certain goods will improve your score, while others (such as video games) will lower it.Chinese citizens who want to remain in the government's good graces will need to balance "negative" purchases with offsetting positive purchases, most likely domestic electronics and appliances.
As disturbing this is, the truly horrific aspect of the "citizen score" is that it can be influenced by friends and family members.
It will hurt your score not only if you do these things, but if any of your friends do them. Imagine the social pressure against disobedience or dissent that this will create.The Chinese government is introducing a caste system -- one that will result in the shunning of people who can't be bothered to keep their dissenting opinions to themselves… or just enjoy certain leisure activities. Certain people will be considered too harmful to hang out with, thanks to the government's mandatory "citizen score." And with anyone able to check anyone else's "score," the pressure to ostracize low scorers will be greatly magnified.
Most disheartening is the fact that many citizens seem to view higher scores as status symbols.
Sadly, many Chinese appear to be embracing the score as a measure of social worth, with almost 100,000 people bragging about their scores on the Chinese equivalent of Twitter.The government's program feeds on the natural competitive desires of human beings. There may be no official leaderboard (YET!) but with millions of easily-accessed "citizen scores," anyone can enter this unofficial score-measuring contest. The government obviously realizes this, as it has tied perks to certain score tiers.
Those with higher scores are rewarded with concrete benefits. Those who reach 700, for example, get easy access to a Singapore travel permit, while those who hit 750 get an even more valued visa.Klout, but for controlling the hearts and minds of a large populace.
And just in case anyone wants to feel superior about China's decision to grade its entire populace on a mandatory curve, let's not forget that employers and loan providers are using applicants' social media interactions to determine their worthiness -- including who they're friends with and what those friends are posting to Twitter, Facebook, etc.
The US government may not be calling for a "citizen score," but there have been pushes for a national ID, and government agencies are certainly using the same hiring "tools" as the private sector when considering job applications. The US government hasn't made many direct assaults on dissent, but it does perform a lot of this same tracking behavior in the interest of national security -- what with the TSA asking for bids on social media mining software and the DHS suggesting retailers voluntarily report "suspicious" purchases.
The Chinese government, however, is sending an implicit message to its citizens with this program: conform or be cast out. The smallest of carrots is dangled and members of the public -- in the interest of maintaining their own high scores -- will act as the stick.
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Filed Under: china, citizen scores, credit scores, national identity, peer pressure, social media, surveillance
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Remember in North Korea the whole family of someone the government doesn't like gets screwed. You know, bad genetics or something. It is amusing that a big chunk of the world condemns North Korea e Co but can't stop doing business with China who does basically the same thing but glosses it with tight media control and a whole load of money. I would guess that the average Pyongyang citizen also doesn't see any problem there and actually likes the government. Propaganda does wonders, the West knows it well.
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I'm pretty well screwed.
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If you want to divide "east" vs "west" on this point, the division would be that in the US, anyway, we tend to think that the government should butt out of family business.
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European royalty traditionally had arranged marriages, of course, but the practice certainly did not extend all the way down through the peasant classes, as it did farther East.
Fundamentalist Mormons still have arranged marriages, and the government has been working hard to put a stop to it.
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/s
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"Me welcome my Overlords." +16
"I get up 1/2 before I go to bed so I get to factory on time!" +25
"Hey, something going on outside." -142
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Hopefully politicians across the globe denounce this as outrageous and vow to fight against such draconian measures in their countries.
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http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/china-asks-world-to-impose-code-of-conduct-on-internet/artic le/2573844
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1984
to follow it, provide input and feedback for improvement until they can implement it in the rest of the planet
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But this is not really about "authoritarian regimes" as much as it is about an ingrained culture of obedience that goes back to ancient times. For instance, while the average Russian (and especially East-European) chafed against the authoritarianism and censorship of Communism, the Chinese hardly seemed to mind it - or even take much notice.
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Social control is a massive no-no in a country where the people are expected to live by human rights in the future. I see the culture and can see where it comes from, but there needs to be a softening from the current cultural national conservativism there to be able to handle ie. Hong Kong, Uyghur and Tibet under the same sun...
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China to be the first nation to mandate Peeple
And yes, this post was made to spark discussion, disagreement, and make people think.
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And now I'm hearing Rush's "Subdivisions" in my head.
But isn't that what China seems to be turning itself into? "Opinions all provided, the future pre-decided / Detached and subdivided in the mass production zone / Nowhere is the dreamer or the misfit so alone..."
(Obligatory YouTube link)
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Not surprising at all . . . 100,000 people just raised their scores by twitting their support of the system. WTG
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If this were introduced here...
Progress is usually made by people outside the norm.
How many with a low rating will suddenly dissapear, I wonder?
Whether by the government or family/"friends" who want to look good and is annoyed by that black sheep.
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Using a low score as a badge of honor
It's really really creepy.
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Is there a list of these things that I could read?
I'm sure it would be quite humorous.
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What I was asking for is examples of the inevitable excuses that will be run up the flag pole just to see if anyone salutes. For example, a "Statistically Appropriate" response to someone of color with their hands in the air would be to draw your weapon and fire. Or maybe just follow them around the store because they are only there to shoplift. These actions would be rationalized via statistical data that says this person will commit x and therefore y is justified, just fill in the blanks with whatever you like.
Figures don't lie but liars figure.
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I can't wait to see some of the reasons on how a citizen's score is lowered.
1. Paid 2015 taxes before 15APR = +50CP (citizen points!)
2. Called out sick due to flu [date redacted] = -5CP
3. Voted in [city name redacted] elections = +75CP
4. Criticized IRS on [name redacted] website = -10CP
5. Criticized CitizenScore.gov via email = -10CP
6. Told CitizenScore Agent to [expletive deleted] himself when asked about email to CitizenScore.gov = -25CP
7. Purchased 2016 [make/model redacted] vehicle = +15CP
7a.Vehicle purchase method: USD (cash) = -10CP
8. Purchased carton of [name/date redacted] cigarettes = -10CP
9. Purchased carton of [name/date redacted] cigarettes = -10CP
10.Stated CitizenScore was [expletive][expletive] = -25CP
11.Stated CitizenScore was [expletive][expletive] = -25CP
11.Told CitizenScore Agent [your] goal of 10CP was achieved = -10CP
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First off while Facebook my control too many people's lives it is not the government. Secondly if I like a government status I, sadly, do not get better credit ratings...
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Nope, that is done by the big media.
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everyone forgets.......
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Wow
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Re: Wow
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Re: save a soul
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Excuse me?
Certainly you jest.
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Votes
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Just another game to play
If you play angry birds, you don't generally feel any animosity towards pigs, you just shoot the birds to get points. If you play civilisation, you don't genuinely believe that wiping out other cultures is a good thing in real life. If you play tetris, you don't feel any particular desire that long blocks should be orientated up and down.
(Admittedly, we all remember the 90s plague of people jumping on turtles, but anyway ...)
This is just another game where you try to maximise your score. You learn to say the right words in the right way, and no one can tell whether you genuinely mean it or if you are just using a slingshot to fire a bird at a pig.
Real class in game playing is then trying to refute negative opinion, but doing a bad job of it, thus publicising it: @AnonCoward says that @GloriousLeader is corrupt for accepting all those bribes from developers, but @GloriousLeader has been a wonderful leader bringing much development to our country. #WonderfulDevelopment
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i think we are looking at our next millennium if this is allowed to happen. buy-in at every level certainly suggests it's a runaway train already.
remote pacific islands may one day become very crowded.
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follow the rabbit neo
imagine the boom in the internet services branch: this will result like any other MMOG!
you can buy cheat codes on ebay,
you can hire chinese prisoners to blog and click with you account to raise your score,
you can hire hackers to instantly clean your score for an urgent Visa...
you can have a raspberry online clicking your score up, via random AI algos (while you work/sleep)
can a script kid create bots to fuck the scores of the chinese inner circle?
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can the NSA/CCC via such score downgrading get chinese writers/bloggers/spy/politician/CEOs killed?
what about MAC/IMEI/IP spoofing?
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Soylent Green
less than 50 points will be processed for food,
sudden scores below 30 points will be used for fuel
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VIP worlds
will only be accessible to elite players with the highest scores
like in any other MMOG
cool!
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comments on migration
this kind of scores system could do the job.
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- 90% of the Chinese share one of 20 surnames, they are not only Han, they are a specific group of Han that wiped out all the rest. If you see them doing this, you can bet that the Japanese, the Koreans, the Singaporeans and others will not follow in those steps because that score thing is something "only chinese roaches do". Same applies for us;
- The Han thus already form an upper-caste in China. You won't get into the higher echelons of power, of money, of privilege of high internet score if you are not Han;
- Some of you dream about direct democracy, see Switzerland and see Latvia. But keep in mind that they have an "independent" media, which as not so effective as the American or German ones, can screw up with the people's minds. See the "refugee" rates and changes of law in Switzerland as an instance. See also about them going FIAT just a decade ago, again because of media push;
- All religions are similar, you get a genesis from the sumerians which is quite like that of the bible. Yet, few of them talk about the dystopian future as the christians do. You should all read the Revelations. That book lays down the path that global tyranny will follow;
Last thing: how can we keep a good civilized-quality-of-life while not participating in this bullshit?
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either Just spam or spam plus attempted human organ trafficking.
(In most cases you can't legally buy or sell a kidney or pay someone directly for the 'service' of donating to you. Just offering can be illegal. When it is done it is never for sums like three hundred thousand dollars, one might see three percent of that if lucky)
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American in China
In China there are no patrol cops, no traffic cops, no swat-style uniformed cops on the streets. In two years I have seen only a handful of actual police officers in public. But in USA I see cops everywhere. China's lack of cops does not translate into higher crime either, as I have seen less crime here than in USA.
Granted, the Chinese are living in an oppressed society, most noticeably in the lack of creative and original thinking among the Chinese, but when I fly home to USA and am greeted by the TSA at the airport, and then see so many aggressive-looking police on the streets, it makes me wonder if Americans realize they are living in what looks to be a genuine police state.
Also, I have observed that China and the American liberals are remarkably alike. Both champion such causes as:
-- abortion on demand
-- gun control
-- nationalized industry
-- collectivism
-- restricted religion
-- restricted capitalism
Liberals should seemingly be holding China up as their role model, and already USA has surpassed China in terms of public policing of citizens.
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Not sure I understand this, oh - it was sarcasm.
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Something that the US government has tried for a long time without success.
That's why you see uniformed police officers everywhere in the US, it doesn't mean they do not exist in China.
In China the police uses mostly plainclothes and you could be surrounded by them without knowing.
I thought that by living in China you should already know about that. That's why the crime rates are so low, sometimes you are married to a government agent and you don't know about it.
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Uh, yes it has!
Just look at the IRS targeting conservative groups. That is a direct assault if there ever was one.
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