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21 J. High Tech. L. 1 (2021)

handle is hein.journals/jhtl21 and id is 1 raw text is: THE HUMAN RIGHTS IMPLICATIONS OF CHINA'S SOCIAL CREDIT SYSTEM Lizzy Rettinger* I. Introduction When the topic of a social credit system is brought up, people generally assume the subject relates to the episode of Black Mirror called Nosedive.1 In the show, everyone has a personal score that is constantly changing based on ratings they receive from people they interact with throughout the day.2 The main character is obsessed with these ratings, and for good reason, as a person's score has significant socioeconomic benefits or consequences.3 While there are some * Thank you to Professor Alex Joel for his support and guidance throughout the writing process. 1 See Alice Vincent, Black Mirror is coming true in China, where your 'rating' affects your home, transport and social circle, THE TELEGRAPH (Dec. 15, 2017), archived at https://perma.cc/23Y2-QPCY (describing the Black Mirror episode where the characters social standing was decided by technology and voted on by people with whom she interacted); Sadaf Ahsan, Black Mirror's chilling social credit score is a reality in China, NATIONAL POST (last updated Mar. 23, 2018), archived at https://perma.cc/YG8J-Z2ZT (explaining the fictional social credit score as depicted in the dystopian program); Gabrielle Bruney, A 'Black Mirror' Episode Is Coming to Life in China, ESQUIRE (Mar. 17, 2018), archived at https://perma.cc/YYU2-RUBZ (drawing a parallel between the Nosedive episode of Black Mirror and China's social credit system). 2 See Ahsan, supra note 1 (detailing the technology used in the Black Mirror episode). Everyone owns and is subjected to an app that allows that to rate their interactions with each other while also sharing personal updates. Id. 3 See Vincent, supra note 1 (summarizing the implications of the social credit score in the episode). Having a good score (above four-point-five out of five) meant that Copyright © 2021 Journal of High Technology Law and Lizzy Rettinger. All Rights Reserved. ISSN 1536-7983.