Bologna Introduces a Social Credit Rating System for Its Citizens

The Italian city of Bologna is launching a social credit rating system, called 'smart citizen wallet', inspired by the Chinese social credit system, reports the newspaper Corriere di Bologna.

According to the article, citizens who choose to participate in the project (participation is still voluntary), will receive digital points for 'good behavior', such as recycling, and these points can be used for purchases and various discounts.

– Citizens will receive rewards if they recycle, use public transport, manage their energy consumption well, or if they have not been penalized – listed councilor Massimo Bugani.

For now, the Bologna social credit system will differ from that in China in two ways. The first has already been mentioned, which is that participation in 'the credit system' is currently on a voluntary basis, and the second is that citizens will not be penalized for their bad behavior, i.e., they will not receive negative points if they stray a little, say, increase heating by two degrees or throw a plastic bottle in paper.

The leaders in Bologna believe that a large number of people will participate, and their goal is for people to understand that 'they are not losers with this system, but that rewards for good behavior await them'. They also hope that citizens will treat the social credit system as 'a reward card' and that this project will increase the acceptance of 'a soft social system'.

Although the system is voluntary, it is a very slippery slope as it requires the use of a digital ID.

The primary method of implementing the social credit system is the use of a digital ID linked to a bank and some monitoring system to track who spends on what, how much they save, and similar, which already closely resembles China.

Regardless of whether the Bologna social credit program succeeds or not, it could have a significant impact on Italy and the entire EU if the Commission likes the results and this scheme could be expanded.

All of this is actually in line with the plan of the World Economic Forum, which has long advocated for a digital ID system that will determine who has access to services, and they also propose monitoring online behavior, tracking purchases, and much more, which we have already written about in Lideru.

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