China is now controlling citizens by targeting their dogs

Keep your dog on a leash. Make sure your pet doesn't bark. Clean up after them.

These are the rules that have been enforced in 2018 in Jinan, eastern China, which launched its "Civilized Dog-Raising Credit Score System" system to enforce responsible dog ownership, according to Sixth Tone.

Over the last few years, China has introduced several social ranking systems, including an app in Shanghai that rates people's honesty, and a bikeshare platform which rewards citizens for good behavior.

Most notably, China is setting up a mandatory country-wide ranking system system that will monitor the behavior of its enormous population, and rank them all based on their "social credit." The vast program is due to be fully operational by 2020, but pilot programs have already taken off across several cities.

How it works

Jinan's dog credit system is similar to the other ranking systems that are proliferating across the country, and aims to improve people's behavior.

The program, launched January 2017, is compulsory and gives registered dog owners a license that begins with 12 points, according to Sixth Tone.

(Flickr photo by Lindsey B)

Points are deducted for things like walking the dog without a leash or collar, not cleaning up after them, and neighborhood disturbances. Good deeds, like volunteering at a local shelter, can increase owners' points.

The sticks and carrots

The points system appears to have worked.

In August 2018, authorities said 80% of dog owners now use leashes, according to Sixth Tone, and complaints about dogs biting or barking were down by 65%, the state-run China Daily reported in August 2018.

Since the enforcement of the system, more than 1,400 dog owners have also been fined or lost points on their license.

Those who lost all their points had their dogs confiscated and were required to pass a test on regulations required for pet ownership.

A local dog owner told Sixth Tone that when registering her dog, the pet was vaccinated, implanted with a microchip and had its picture taken. The owner then received a tag with a QR code that police can use to look up the dog breed, age, immunization status, plus the owner's personal information and number of license points.

The tag also allows for geolocation, and costs around plus annual tag inspections for an additional cost.

(Photo by Alan Levine)

The new system also allows police to confiscate dogs that are unregistered by the state. China's state-owned Legal Daily newspaper praised the credit system and called for it to be implemented across the country.

Several cities have also adopted stricter pet ownership laws. In Qingdao, located along the coast in Shandong, citizens are only allowed to have one dog per person and ban certain dog breeds.

The Chinese government has also introduced widespread measures to monitor its citizens and encourage good behavior.

The country is working to combine its 170+ million security cameras with artificial intelligence and facial recognition technology to create a vast surveillance state and keep tabs on its 1.4 billion inhabitants.

This article originally appeared on Business Insider. Follow @BusinessInsider on Twitter.