Italy first EU pilot nation with a Social Credit Score

According to an article from Corriere di Bologna, the municipal government is introducing a smart citizen wallet that can receive digital points based on whether a citizen has proven and demonstrated virtuous behavior.

Residents can then use these digital points for discounts and to make various purchases. Not surprisingly, actions related to one’s carbon impact are central to what’s considered reward-able virtuous behavior.

For example, the citizen will receive benefits if he recycles, if he uses public transport, if he manages his energy consumption well, if he does not receive sanctions from the municipal authority if he actively uses the Culture Card, says Bologna councilor Massimo Bugani.

The social credit score isn’t as all-encompassing as the one that exists in China yet and currently remains voluntary. Rather than penalizing citizens for not behaving virtuously, as defined by the Chinese government, citizens will only be rewarded in Italy.

The government hopes that this distinction, treating the social credit score more like a reward card, will increase the adoption of the soft social credit system. So the social credit system has arrived, without obligatory testing Covid-19 style.

No one will be forced to participate, and whoever wants to give consent can download and use a special application. We want citizens to understand that they are not losers but that their behavior is rewarded.

While the social credit score remains voluntary, it’s a slippery slope, just like the pandemic measures at first were voluntary, but later turned into semi obligatory if people wanted to travel or go to a restaurant.

The primary means of implementing a social credit score is by using a digital ID, central bank digital currency, and mass surveillance so that the government can monitor your purchases and interactions and limit access to funds to compel behavior.

The EU previously acknowledged the risk of mass surveillance and planned to ban facial recognition, specifically within the context of social credit score systems?

In the meanwhile, the push for national digital ID’s and even a global digital ID is well underway, but some are more concerned than others.

Overall, the success, failure, and rate of acceptance of Bologna’s soft social credit score could have profound consequences for the rest of Italy and may be looked back on as the moment Europe began Crossing the Rubicon.

The Counter Signal Company / ABC Flash Point News 2022.