Your Phone Already Has Social Credit. We Just Lie About It. By Natalie Pang, Sunday, 31 August 2025 --- Overview What people think of as China's "social credit system" — a dystopian, government-run surveillance and scoring system — is largely a misconception. In reality, no comprehensive nationwide social credit system exists in China, and individual social credit scoring is limited to a few pilot programs with restricted scope. Meanwhile, Western societies unknowingly live with their own fragmented social credit systems embedded in everyday technologies, such as smartphones and online platforms. These systems track and score behaviors that affect access to services, opportunities, and social status — but they are hidden behind user experience features rather than openly acknowledged. --- What is Social Credit? Original meaning: Economic concept involving sharing industry profits to increase consumers' purchasing power. Modern use: Any metric system that tracks individual behavior, scores it, and uses the score to allocate social or economic privileges. Examples include: credit scores, LinkedIn endorsements, Uber passenger ratings, Instagram engagement, Amazon reviews, Airbnb host status --- The Reality Behind China's Social Credit System No nationwide, comprehensive individual social credit system currently exists as of 2024. Most private scoring systems have been shut down. Local pilots mainly focus on corporate/regulatory metrics. The primary data tracked relates to court judgment defaults (e.g., unpaid fines or loans). Experimental expansions to broader social behavior are limited to isolated cities. These systems have had very limited impact and are not government-wide. --- Western Social Credit Systems — The Hidden Reality Your phone and apps score and track your behavior constantly: Uber: Passenger rating affects ride access. Instagram: Engagement patterns tracked. Banking apps: Analyze transactions and spending. LinkedIn: Algorithmically manages professional visibility. Amazon: Evaluates purchase history. Dating apps: Rank users based on engagement. Unlike China's explicit approach, Western systems obscure their scoring algorithms. These behavioral scores influence real-world outcomes: Loan and credit approvals Employment opportunities Housing availability Insurance premiums --- The Fragmented but Converging Systems Currently, no unified social credit system interlinks these platforms. Example: Uber rating does not currently affect mortgage rates. However, infrastructure and cultural norms are evolving toward integration. Government and corporations collaborate and access behavioral data. Rising usage of social media and behavior data in lending and background checks. European digital identity initiatives and US cities' pilot programs indicate movement toward comprehensive behavior scoring systems. --- Critical Discussion Points Transparency vs. Opacity: China shows clearer rules in pilot programs, whereas Western algorithms remain black boxes. Switching costs: Major platforms' ecosystems make it hard to avoid being scored. Corporations vs. government: Though corporations hold monopoly-like power, governments access corporate data legally. Social credit's benefits: Social credit systems can reduce fraud and encourage cooperation but raise ethical concerns. Choice: Understanding how scores are computed offers users a chance to manage their behavior and decisions consciously. --- Conclusion We already live within social credit systems disguised as everyday rating and scoring mechanisms controlled by apps and platforms. China's explicit social credit experiments may influence Western norms to become more transparent about behavioral scoring. When your apps begin to reveal these hidden scores—and their rules—you will finally