As usual I’m turning to lemmy to get answers/resources on this before I make assumptions and do further reading myself.

Holidays have started and with that comes family discussions on topics such as China having a socials points system which dictates (apparently) everything from you being able to buy a house or enrolling your child into a good school.

Is this true or not? I’ve heard mixed responses and would love more explanations.

  • Commiejones
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    8 days ago

    Nope. There is no centralized “social credit” system. There are cases where owners of dodgy businesses that owe lots of money or were involved in malfeasance have been cut off from Flights and Trains but those were imposed by a court. They do have regular credit scores but they are nowhere as nebulous or shady as western ones.

    When people bring up the “social credit” thing just ask them if they know their credit rating. Then ask them if they know that just checking their credit rating it can make it worse or that landlords can and often do demand a credit check and employers are allowed to ask for a credit check. Then ask them if being penalized for antisocial behavior sounds bad compared to a automated financial credit system that you aren’t even allowed to check without hurting your rating. “everything bad you have heard about China’s social credit system is true multiplied by ten in usa but it does not exist in China”