Consumer Privacy and Consumer Citizenship: Distributed or Centralized Trust among the Chinese Social Credit System

The Chinese government has launched a new social credit system in the early 2010s to monitor citizen and businesses’ behaviour and reputation as well as their access to goods and services. Citizens with low social credits (or social score) may receive punishments such as travel bans, slow internet connection, exclusion from hotels as well as registration on a public blacklist. In this research talk, we will discuss how the Chinese government transforms their governance approach to discipline citizens’ everyday behaviours. We will also discuss how new technologies such as Internet of Things (IoTs) and big data analytics become tools for maintaining the social order. We will conclude the talk with an open dialogue regarding consumer privacy and consumer citizenship in the new state-operated reputation system.
Dr. Eric Li is a marketing and consumer researcher with a PhD in Marketing from the Schulich School of Business at York University and a Masters in Anthropology from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His research interests include consumer privacy, global consumer culture, digital marketing and consumption, the integration of internet of things (IoT) and internet of people (IoP) in the market systems. He is currently working on research projects related to prosocial behaviours, corporate philanthropy, and the distributed trust.
Dr. Magnum Lam is a consumer researcher with a PhD in Fashion Business from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His research interests include consumer moralism, design and aesthetic experiences, and consumer acculturation.
All are welcome.