Beijing will ascribe all of its residents and companies with "personal trustworthiness points" within three years, as part of China’s plan to use technology to monitor its population more closely.<\/b>
\nB eijing will ascribe\u00a0all of its residents and companies with\u00a0«personal trustworthiness points» within three years, as part of China’s plan\u00a0to use technology to monitor its population more closely.
The government of China\u2019s capital city, which has\u00a0a population of\u00a0nearly 22m people, will use the\u00a0score to help build a national\u00a0social credit system\u00a0designed to\u00a0reward or punish citizens, according to\u00a0state media.
The controversial scheme, first announced by the ruling Chinese Communist Party in 2014, will use digital monitoring techniques to measure individual’s financial credit, personal behaviour and corporate mismanagement.
The Beijing government said the points system will improve the city’s business environment by preventing people\u00a0with low \u201cintegrity\u201d from accessing the city\u2019s\u00a0public services and travel networks. People with a low credit score\u00a0could also find it difficult to start a businesses or find work.
People who are blacklisted by the points system will be «unable to move a step» while\u00a0those considered trustworthy\u00a0will have no problem.
«This is an important novel approach by Beijing to assess individuals’ credit and tie it to their whole life,» a spokesperson for the Beijing government said, according to the Xinhua news agency .
The city\u00a0authorities did not reveal details of how the point system would work. It will, however, set an example for\u00a0the rest of China on\u00a0how to improve the behaviour of individuals and businesses, reports said.
A second scheme will also monitor the trustworthiness of Beijing\u2019s officials and\u00a0 government departments by monitoring whether deals and pledges are delivered. This system will then be included in performance assessments.
The Chinese government has\u00a0previously stated its «once untrustworthy, always restricted» social credit system will mean greater transparency. It\u00a0will help expose\u00a0corruption so miscreants can be more effectively punished.
Individuals in the country can already be blacklisted from making certain purchases, such as tickets for flights or high-speed rail services, for up to a year if they fail to pay court-mandated fines. This system was put in place by the\u00a0 government in March.
E arlier this month \u00a0China’s\u00a0government ordered technology businesses \u00a0in the country to collect more data on their users, including their real names and the type of hardware they use to access sites. China\u2019s Cyberspace Administration published its new requirements this month, informing businesses that they will come into place on November 30.
The new restrictions require social media businesses, online forums, video services and search engines to routinely collect detailed user information and to establish systems for reporting this information to the police when requested.<\/p>\n