Chinese court presents app tracking nearby ‘DEADBEAT DEBTORS’ with map of ‘shame’

The “People’s Court” of China’s Hebei province has introduced a new app which identifies and even maps the location of people dodging their debts to help create a “socially credible environment,” state media reports.

The program has been described as “a map of deadbeat debtors,” revealing their financial information and exact location to nearby peers. The app brings snitching on your neighbors into the 21st century, making it simple and convenient to report those with outstanding financial obligations to the authorities.

According to ChinaDaily, a news service run by the Communist Party of China, the app will show if someone with bad credit is within 500 meters, making it easier for citizens to “whistle-blow on debtors capable of paying their debts.”

“It’s a part of our measures to enforce our rulings and create a socially credible environment,” a court spokesman explained.

The article features a screenshot of the app in which the offending parties are marked by adorable little emojis, which can be checked quickly to easily access the debtor’s information.

This could be a serious problem for a lot of Chinese citizens, considering that household debt hit an all-time high in the country during 2017, according to a report by German insurer Allianz.

While currently limited to Hebei, the program is not unlike the so-called “social credit system” which China plans to implement for all of its 1.3 billion citizens by 2020. The social credit system will not only rate people based on their credit rating, but also on whether they smoke, drink or criticize the government.

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