BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

The Real Story

Discussion & Talk

Factual: Politics

Global experts and decision makers discuss, debate and analyse a key news story.

The Real Story: China's Big Social Experiment

Factual

China's Big Social Experiment

14/12/2018 GMT

BBC World Service - The Real Story, China's Big Social Experiment

What are the costs and benefits of a social credit system?

In 2014, the Chinese government issued a document aimed at increasing the amount of 'trust' in society. Today this emerging system is known as China's social credit system - like a credit score but tracking more than financial transactions. China's central government wants to have the system in place across China by 2020, using a range of information -- including shopping habits, driving fines and even what's written on social media -- to rate and rank individuals. People with poor scores could find themselves unable to get bank loans or buy plane tickets. Advocates claim that a system is necessary in a country where few people have credit ratings. But detractors see it as a kind of dystopic super-surveillance. Celia Hatton and a panel of expert guests weighs up the costs and benefits of social credit.

(Photo: A Chinese woman walks along the street holding a broom and dustpan. Credit: Getty Images)

BBC World Service

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service News Internet

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Real Story

China's Big Social Experiment

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

About BBC World Service