Apple gives users a secret 'trust score' based on their calls and emails

[Swordsmyth]

Apple has begun giving secret “trust scores” to users based on how they use their devices.
The firm said that it has begun tracking the number of phone calls and emails sent and received from iPhones and Apple TVs to create a measure of trustworthiness.
The scores could help Apple tackle fraud by tracking fake reviews and spam App Store accounts. However, Apple has refused to reveal the exact reasons why it is collecting the data.
Apple’s new policy was shown in the legal agreement for its iOS 12 software update, which was released on Monday.
The agreement reads: “To help identify and prevent fraud, information about how you use your device, including the approximate number of phone calls or emails you send and receive, will be used to compute a device trust score when you attempt a purchase.”

More at: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/apple...110955423.html

[Bern]

None of that makes any sense to me.

[jkr]

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-...-social-credit

Communist China Moves To Control Billions Through "Social Credit"


In a chilling but unsurprising move, Communist China seeks ultimate control over the population by introducing a scorecard which will supposedly keep the public in check. The big brother system will monitor all citizens 24/7 and keep a “score” of their activities.
According to News.com.au, an active pilot program has already seen millions of people each assigned a score out of 800. Those people will either reap the benefits of having a high score or suffer the consequences of a low social score. Depending on which end of the scale they sit, their behavior could see them punished.
The data is combined with information collected from individuals’ government records, which include medical and educational, along with their financial and internet browsing histories. Overall scores can go up and down in “real time” dependent on the person’s behavior but they can also be affected by people they associate with.
“If your best friend or your dad says something negative about the government, you’ll lose points too,” the ABC reports. The Chinese will be assumed guilty by association and no longer able to speak out about their own oppression.
Participation in the “social credit” system was first announced in 2014 and is mandatory. The government is attempting to control the actions of the public in a bid to reinforce the notion that “keeping trust is glorious and breaking trust is disgraceful,” according to a government document.
“If people keep their promises they can go anywhere in the world,” said Tianjin general manager Jie Cong. For Jie, it’s black and white with no grey area.
“If people break their promises they won’t be able to move an inch!”
Penalties for a low score range from losing the right to travel by plane or train, social media account suspensions and being barred from government jobs, according to Business Insider. Chinese journalist Liu Hu is one of the millions who have already amassed a low social credit rating. Liu Hu was arrested, jailed and fined after he exposed official corruption.
“The government regards me as an enemy,” Liu Hu told the ABC.