china digital surveillance, china social credit system, europe, human rights, italy, privacy, , , surveillance

First Social Credit System in Europe: Rewards for Exemplary Citizens?

Amidst a lot of controversy and hassles, a city in Italy is going to implement a social credit system that will be implemented through an app. This is going to be deployed in the city of Bologna. The move was announced by Councillor Massimo Bugani and Mayor of Bologna Matteo Lepore. The usage of social ...

Armin Auctor

A building flying the Italian and EU flags.

Why Using Chinese Smartphones Is Cause for Concern

Of late, there have been growing worries globally that China might be trying to infiltrate other nations’ security and communication systems by flooding markets with its tech products. Samantha Hoffman, an analyst of Chinese security issues at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), believes that Chinese smartphones are a big security threat to the world. ...

Armin Auctor

A smartphone on a map of the world.

23 Million Chinese Banned From Traveling

Millions of would-be Chinese travelers have been blocked from buying airplane and train tickets. Why? Because the government’s social credit system classified them as a “risk.” So much for Chinese taking a vacation Last year, 17.5 million people were banned from buying airplane tickets in China, and 5.5 million were prevented from riding a train. ...

Max Lu

Traveling by train.

How China Exports Social Control Tech to Venezuela

Venezuela has adopted China’s Social Credit System, which is an example of what happens when an authoritarian government gets tech savvy. The system basically puts the entire billion-plus population of China under government control, with officials determining which citizens should be given loans, train passes, special privileges, and so on. Citizens who have negative scores ...

Nspirement Staff

Woman holding mobile phone.

3 Ominous AI Trends We Should Be Worried About

Artificial Intelligence is proclaimed as being the cornerstone for establishing a new world order for human beings. Unfortunately, this new world can either be a paradise or turn into our worst nightmare. Looking at emerging AI trends, there are three specific developments that should be a cause of worry for any sensible human. Unregulated government ...

Nspirement Staff

Millions Blocked From Travel Due to China’s Social Credit Surveillance

Over 9 million Chinese citizens have been blocked from buying flight tickets due to their low Social Credit Rating, a system that measures a citizen’s “trustworthiness.” Three million people were also barred from buying business-class train tickets. The Chinese Communist Party plans on fully implementing the system in Beijing starting in 2020. Banning travel to ...

Nspirement Staff

A China Airlines jet.