“Deadbeat Map” shows which people around you are on a financial blacklist

WeChat mini program rolled out in the capital of Hebei shows deadbeats

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Why you can trust SCMP

The map gives blue, yellow, orange and red alarms based on the amount of “deadbeats” around you. (Picture: China Daily)

Xinmei Shen

Published: 9:21pm, 17 Jan 2019Updated: 8:50am, 20 Sep 2019

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

Wondering if anyone bad with money is around you right now? China has a WeChat mini program just for that.

“Deadbeat Map” pretty much does what it says: Reveal the location of laolai -- a word used by authorities to refer to people who fail to repay their debts, and are put on a social credit blacklist. Open the mini program and you’ll see the location of those people if they’re within 500 meters of you… though for now it only works in Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei province.

It might seem like a violation of privacy, but in China it’s pretty normal: The country began publicly naming and shaming deadbeats last year under its social credit system.

Millions of people have been banned from taking over flights and train trips. And it’s not just average people: Famous tech companies leaders like Ofo founder Dai Wei and LeEco founder Jia Yueting have also been affected. Those who are blacklisted will have their information listed on national and local government websites and are available for anyone in the country to look up and see.

This information is also in the mini program -- their names, national ID numbers, and why they’re on the blacklist is visible with a tap. Authorities say the shaming is intentional, calling it a “creative use of the internet to precisely expose deadbeats.”