Is China taking social monitoring too far?

Millions of Chinese people have been banned from travelling on planes and trains as the government in China expands its social credit programme that ranks people’s trustworthiness.

Last year, more than 17 million people with low scores were barred from buying plane tickets, and another five million were not allowed on high-speed trains.

Four million companies have been blacklisted for “untrustworthy conduct” for a number of activities, including bidding for projects, taking part in land auctions and issuing corporate bonds.

Is this ethical, and could it be taking surveillance too far?

Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra

Guests:

Dan Wang – China analyst, the Economist Intelligence Unit

Zennon Kapron – CEO of KapronAsia, a market research and consulting firm that analyses technology trends in China

Anna Bacciarelli – Technology researcher and adviser at Amnesty International