Authorities in Jiangsu province have rolled out a new social credit app, which would give preferential treatment to residents who score highly on their behavior. Critics have compared the app to a dystopian social credit system seen in the science fiction television series “Black Mirror.”

The new app, described as a “civilized behavior code,” would score the residents of Suzhou city based on their daily activities, according to Chinese media. The app builds on top of a previous health code system built to combat COVID-19, which controls citizens’ movements based on their health status.

Those who gain a favorable score will be rewarded with priority status in their work, daily life, employment, education and entertainment. Users will receive points for volunteer work, and lose them for offenses such as not obeying traffic signals and drunk driving.

China’s social credit system has made life difficult for many people, with some being barred from buying train or plane tickets, said veteran commentator Johnny Lau. He said the Suzhou app seemed to be another attempt to refine the social credit system, after previous iterations sparked a backlash.

The coronavirus epidemic has also provided more opportunities for the government to surveil the public and intrude into their daily lives, Lau said, citing the example of residents in lockdown having to rely on neighborhood officials to buy groceries.

Hongkongers had good reason to fear a health code, Lau said, since it could evolve into a more wide-reaching monitoring system like the one in Suzhou.

His view was echoed by Francis Fong, honorary president of the Hong Kong Information Technology Federation, who said there was “no difficulty” in converting a health code into a “civilized behavior code” like that of Suzhou.

Hong Kong’s pro-establishment camp has supported plans for a Chinese-style “health code” in the city. Separately, the Guangdong government has proposed setting up a social credit system in the province within the next three years, though officials say Hong Kong will not be part of the system.

“Thankfully Hong Kong does not have that many surveillance cameras, but nobody knows how long this will continue to be true,” Fong said, adding that the social credit system in China works together with extensive surveillance.

In 2014, China’s State Council – the nation’s cabinet – outlined plans for a social credit system that would be rolled out by 2020, and that would “build a credit system covering the whole of society based on information sharing.”

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