Italy to Pilot Social Credit System for ‘Climate-Friendly’ Behaviour
By Paul Homewood
ROME — The city of Bologna, Italy, has announced a pilot program to reward “virtuous” citizens for recycling, taking public transportation, and curbing energy usage.
The program, which has been likened to China’s social credit system, is slated to go into effect in September, 2022, using a “smart citizen wallet” app for cell phones.
In September, we will start with a pilot project for the city: at the center is the virtuous citizen, the one who, for example, separates waste well or does not waste energy, or uses public transport and does not receive fines, or actively uses the Bologna Welcome Card,” announced Massimo Bugani, councilor for the city’s digital agenda and civic use of data, at a press conference late last month.
“The municipality will assign such citizens a score as part of a reward system with economic benefits to individual users,” Bugani explained.
Citizens will have access to their rating, which can be improved by earning points that they may then “spend” on prizes such as rebates and cultural activities as a reward for their “virtuous behavior.”
Bugani stated that the app was part of a broader initiative by the city of Bologna to engage in digital innovation. “What we call a new ‘water system’ for the city is being built,” he said, adding that in coming years “many services will go digital in Italy; we have an ambitious project here that is built on solid foundations.”
Although Bugani has insisted that participation in the program will be voluntary, he has expressed his confidence that many will enrol.
Critics of the program, such as the Italian tech firm Privacy Network, which specialized in digital privacy, have warned of the legal, ethical, and societal implications of such apps.
“These practices, if poorly developed or used, can lead to serious limitations on, and violations of, citizens’ rights and freedoms, as well as discriminatory practices, which are also achieved through technological means, such as ‘social credit’ systems (or social scoring),” reads a Privacy Network online statement.
Others have noted that social credit apps, “if poorly developed or used, can lead to serious limitations on, and violations of, citizens’ rights and freedoms, as well as discriminatory practices.” Nowhere have the dangers of this practice been more evident than in China, where social credit scores affect citizens’ ability to travel, education, employment, and even welfare support.
It is unsurprising that in Italy, social credit scoring is being introduced in relation to environmental friendliness, given its love affair with green politics.
As Breitbart News has reported, the Italian government has introduced rationing of air conditioning and heat in an attempt to reduce the nation’s dependence on imported Russian energy.
As of May 21, public buildings will be limited in their use of heating and cooling, with caps set on maximum and minimum temperatures and stiff fines for failing to respect them.
While the mandatory limits will initially affect only public buildings, the AC and heat rationing may be extended to private homes in the future, according to reports.
Like much of Europe, Italy has become heavily dependent on Russian oil and gas due to its unwillingness to produce its own energy and EU governments are currently providing some billion dollars a day to Moscow for its gas and oil.
The reference to China’s social credit system is a warning of what is to come. Orwellian does not even start to describe it.
And let us be very clear – what may begin as voluntary rewards programme will quickly develop into a compulsory one, which actively punishes.
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NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT 
What could go wrong?
Amr Marzouk
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And if you do not happen to own a smartphone…?
In Japan, in some locations, you can not use a toilet. I recently ran across “QR Code Only” restrooms. One must make a purchase in a nearby business who will then provide you with a QR code which you can scan into your smart phone and then use to access the toilet. Nifty, eh?
Smartphones will be provided! At your expense!
Bologna has long been infested with Marxists.
Make no mistake, many will enjoy nibbling at this initial carrot, basking in the virtue signalling sunshine.
Long faces when carrot disappears and ruddy great stick comes out. Feel chilly at 18° in midwinter? Off to the gulag with you!
I was on a train between Venice and Florence the day that some of them bombed a train in a tunnel just outside Bologna, killing 30. The journey took twice as long as it should have done.
Ah, ti amiamo fratello maggiore!
Look in to the ESG scoring system, the Environmental, Social (Justice) and Governance system. Investment, accounting and I think legal firms are already offering services to increase the ESG scores of businesses to ensure they maintain access to all available financial products and services. Some are advertising the same for individuals.
Or as Big Brother might put it, “Double plus good”.
For the authorities.
Another way of fiddling money out of the Government.
in your conclusion, I could not agree more. The thin end of the wedge and a force against all our doors – blown in. Will people get the message, not much. Worringly the sheep will comply and because they never fathom the full implications and deliberately done. I was agog at how quickly did the PRC recover their reputation in the aftermath of the Tianamen massacre and guess (in the west) who smoothed the way for that in great part, oh yes our very own public broadcaster and still they ardently shill for them. A very compliant state and people, just what the bbc would and dream of and about, know your enemy, understand their MO.
Orwell didn’t know about the pending advances in electronic communication, computing and miniaturization.
All citizens must be equal before the state. The Bologna plan is to make some more equal than others.
Yes, GC, it’s I interesting to note that not surprisingly there were no real computers in 1948 but Colossus was around (until Churchill ordered it be destroyeď). But Orwell did come with the Speakwrite – which, ironically, could be called a Speakright. 🙂
Benito Mussolini would be so proud.
Any story on Breitbart these days has to be treated with the greatest suspicion. Quite apart from their proud support for Putin against “Ukrainian Nazis”, as ‘proved’ by rt.com, they are often completely wrong. Facts are not a problem, they generally don’t much bother with them. They are worse than the Guardian.
For this article, the Italians BTL point out that this is Bologna not ‘Italy’, and Bologna has long been Communistic, they do weird things and always have. The rest of Italy yawns. Glasgow with better weather.
Your are very confident about the ‘facts’ surrounding the war in Ukraine….. I’d be careful with that.
As I haven’t stated any facts about the war in Ukraine, only Breitbart’s view of the facts, I would try thinking before sneering if I was you.
Yes, Russia didn’t invade another country, hasn’t shelled cities and anyway they are all Nazis so Russia had to invade because otherwise Ukraine would have…er…
Or something, right?
I doubt that Breitbart could any worse than the rubbish the legacy media spew out about Ukraine. What happened to the Russian’s 22nd century army ready to storm westward from the Baltic to the Black Sea that the Telegraph was telling about earlier in the year? What about all these other ‘experts’ lining up to say how invincible they are? Scrambling to row back on their bullshit as the clapped nature of their equipment becomes clear. As for covering the war – well they aren’t. It is all sob stories or blown up homes, lost baybees etc not grown up reporting. Years of broken promises by the US and Ukraine and years of goading and attacks on Donbas and Luhansk have brought this about.
‘Facts are not a problem, they generally don’t much bother with them. They are worse than the Guardian.’
Facts seem not to be a problem for you.
It wouldn’t be so bad if it actually made a difference.
It’s been likened to the Chinese Social Credit System. Yes, because it is the Chinese Social Credit System, by a different name, and being sneaked in by the back door.
Once you understand the penalties for not complying, you’ll regret joining so that you can virtue signal…..
Don’t allow the PM of the UK,Carrie, to see this
The late Prof David MacKay produced a great insight, the opposite of the Tesco marketing slogan “Every little bit helps”, when it comes to influencing the climate all the little bits add up to diddly squat.
Can we start hanging politicians yet?
I’m curious who pays for these rewards exactly? If I don’t join, I still pay for those who have joined.
Hmm.
Please remember, friends, that Bologna Italy has been run by the PCI (Communist Party of Italy) since WWII. It is a beautiful, wealthy city (in which I did a year of grad school, so I know it well) that has been has been the intentional poster-child for “don’t worry, the Communists won’t hurt you…” for almost 80 years now. This is exactly the spot (aside from parts of France) where I would expect this agenda to be led in, for propaganda purposes.