ACLU: Orwellian Citizen Score, China’s credit score system, is a warning for Americans.

In China, every citizen is being assigned a credit score that drops if a person buys and plays video games, or posts political comments online “without prior permission,” or even if social media “friends” do so. The ACLU said the credit rating system, an Orwellian nightmare, should serve as a warning to Americans.

Gamer? Strike. Bad-mouthed the government in comments on social media? Strike. Even if you don’t buy video games and you don’t post political comments online “without prior permission,” but any of your online friends do….strike. The strikes are actually more like dings, dings to your falling credit score that is.

Thanks to a new terrifying use of big data, a credit score can be adversely affected by your hobbies, shopping habits, lifestyles, what you read online, what you post online, your political opinions as well as what your social connections do, say, read, buy or post. While you might never imagine such a credit-rating system in America, it is happening in China and the ACLU said it serves as a warning for Americans.