Justice comes to virtual world

Sesame Credit Management, a consumer credit agency backed by e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, has teamed up with China's top court to pressure people to comply with court verdicts.

Sesame Credit, a business unit under Zhejiang Ant Small & Micro Financial Services Group Co, the parent company of China's largest e-payment tool Alipay, said in a statement on Tuesday that it has connected with the Supreme People's Court's database, which contains a real-time blacklist of those who flout court verdicts, including debtors.

Those on the blacklist will not only see their Sesame credit score reduced but also find that they are banned from buying high-priced items online across Alibaba's e-commerce platforms including Taobao and Tmall.