This is a social credit system currently being piloted in Bologna, Italy.

In essence it is a points system based on virtuous behaviour, such as using public transport, sorting out your rubbish and moving away from all forms of fossil fuels in favour of renewables.

In exchange for this “good behaviour” citizens will be rewarded financially or through goods and services (the exact details are still being discussed)

The pilot scheme is purely voluntary in Bologna, but is very similar to an ongoing scheme in China that has been running for years.

To take part it will be necessary to install an app to your phone or tablet in order to have a registered digital identity with the local government and its agencies.

The Citizen Wallet, is being backed by the EU Commission, and in particular, Ursula von der Leyen, who wants it to be used in conjunction with the “European Digital Identity Wallet”, which will store digitized information (supposedly including driving licence, health, social security details, employment, criminal record, banking, passport etc) of every citizen in the EU.

Inevitably, there are concerns about privacy, civil rights, freedom of movement as well as the logic that suggests if you don’t hop on board the “Smart Citizen Wallet” idea, then that makes you out to be a bad person with something to hide (possibly even cancelled for not being virtuous enough!)

In essence, the EU want to move ahead and insist that every EU citizen installs the app so that they can not only have all their personal details digitized and consolidated into one virtual “wallet” (database, to you and me). And if you’re a model citizen you will earn points, while those who do not “conform” will be stigmatised and possibly even fined for being naughty!

And from a technological point of view this means even more dependency on having a smartphone and the way it holds/interrogates not only what apps you have installed, but your contacts, photos, text messages, location, journey tracking, online purchasing, fingerprint and iris scanner authentication. The “wallet” just adds another level of electronic activity/scrutiny on your freedoms and choices.

The pilot scheme in Bologna is for the moment voluntary. But we all know what will happen once approved by the EU hierarchy. And despite Brexit/Brino, it wouldn’t surprise me if this EU policy is welcomed & implemented by Blow Job Boris and his No. 10 knob-jockeys!

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Nominated by: Technocunt