Make no mistake, this is coming to "the west" as well. Just in a distributed, capitalistic way. Someone else here mentioned Uber ratings, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Social media is already used as a source of data for rentals[1] and even babysitting[2] applications. But of course the most eager adopters are also the effective gatekeeper to so many aspects of modern life: insurance companies[3].
Meanwhile, the algorithms used to make these decisions are often an unaccountable, un-analyzable black box. It's going to be very possible to fall through into an "undesirable" category without any obvious misdeeds or obvious ways to fix the situation. I expect we're going to see a category of consultants emerge that will help you "fix" undesirable algorithm ratings - just like we have for credit ratings.
This is a HUGE difference because you are allowed to exit a given system / rating scheme or not use the services that require it. That may be difficult, but it's not literally prevented by the government. You and your fellow defectors can build alternatives. Build your own institutions.
I bet your future employer would be very interested in seeing your Uber rating before they hire you, so if a company decided to sell that information it could get very close to what China intends to do.
Meanwhile, the algorithms used to make these decisions are often an unaccountable, un-analyzable black box. It's going to be very possible to fall through into an "undesirable" category without any obvious misdeeds or obvious ways to fix the situation. I expect we're going to see a category of consultants emerge that will help you "fix" undesirable algorithm ratings - just like we have for credit ratings.
[1] https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/15/naborly-lets-landlords-scr...
[2] https://venturebeat.com/2018/10/04/babysitter-screening-app-...
[3] https://medium.com/privacy-international/social-media-intell...