The Italian "smart city" of Bologna wants to introduce a digital virtue scoring system
The Italian city of Bologna wants to introduce a digital social credit system in which citizens can collect "virtue points." The bonus system could increase social discrimination.
By Catrin Dingler, jungle.world 
(2022-05-25)
Those who last year criticized the introduction of digital proof of vaccination, known in Italy as the "Green Pass," as a harbinger of a more comprehensive digitalized control society along the lines of the Chinese model, saw themselves vindicated at the end of March. In Bologna, the left-liberal city government led by the Partito Democratico (PD) has announced a pilot project for a digital social credit system this fall. Similar to the loyalty points that can be collected in retail stores, the citizenry is to be invited to collect "virtue points" via a mobile phone app called "Smart Citizen Wallet." Bonus points are to be awarded to those who separate garbage properly, use public transportation, do not commit misdemeanors, and use digital offerings for exchanges with the public administration. The bonus points are to be redeemable exclusively within the municipal economic cycle, for example in the form of discounts or privileged access to local services and cultural programs.
> Where garbage cans regularly overflow and buses and trains only run on a limited basis, points cannot be collected either.
In a press conference at the end of March, Mayor Matteo Lepore (PD) highlighted the advantages for the networked city user: the efforts of the "best" from the citizenry would be rewarded. In addition, commuters and tourists could also benefit from real-time news on weather and traffic conditions. The city hopes to save money in the long term: Thanks to the transmitted data, efficient and resource-saving urban development would be possible. The city councilor responsible for digitalization, Massimo Bugani of the Movimento 5 Stelle (Five Star Movement, M5S), brushed aside questions about data protection with the comment that no one was being forced to participate. No penalty points are to be handed out for the time being.
The five stars of the M5S symbolize, among other things, sustainable development, renewable energies, environmental protection, public mobility and the digitalization of political administration and decision-making processes. For Bugani, the announced city app is therefore not new territory: Before becoming a city councilor in Bologna last October, he worked in Rome as digital commissioner for the mayor Virginia Raggi (M5S), who has since been voted out of office. Working closely with Chinese technology company Huawei, Bugani promoted the Citizen Wallet platform as the foundation of digitally-driven urban transformation since 2019. However, the Roman experimental phase offered only a very limited bonus system; points could only be earned for cashless purchases of bus and metro tickets and participation in an online evaluation of the public administration's digital services. In Rome, the advertising campaign focused less on the virtuousness of the citizenry and more on the capital's position in the Italian ranking of so-called smart cities. The title "Smart City" is awarded to the municipality that uses digital strategies to ensure sustainable development on an economic, social and ecological level. In a national comparison, Rome is still behind the leading Italian "smart cities" Florence, Milan and Bologna.
After two years of the Covid 19 pandemic, the time is right for a further digitization push: On the one hand, economic stimulus funds from the European Recovery Fund can be used to invest in expanding the digital infrastructure. On the other hand, the pandemic state of emergency brought about a familiarization with the digitization of personal and social life. According to surveys, a majority of the Italian population would like to continue working from home ("Smart Work"). Distance learning ("Smart Education") and digitally flexible healthcare ("Smart Health"), on the other hand, remain controversial. The concept of the "smart city" is also unlikely to meet with much interest outside the gentrified inner cities: Where garbage cans regularly overflow, buses and trains only run in limited numbers and bicycle rental is not even offered, points cannot be collected. The bonus system could reinforce the already prevailing social discrimination: here the "virtuous" citizens, there the "uncivilized" others.
For years, homeless people, beggars and street vendors have been forced out of public spaces in the name of cleanliness and safety. Migrant meeting points and party places for young people are regarded as a disturbance of "good manners". In Bologna, the city government is particularly concerned about the famous arcades and porticoes of the historic center, which were declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco last summer. In the future, they are to be cleaned of posters and graffiti to prove themselves worthy of the designation. There have long been numerous blogs where citizens can express their outrage at the "decline" of public order and report "anarchy" and "vandalism" to the relevant authorities. The transition to a social credit system, in which some are rewarded with points for denunciation and others are sanctioned with point deductions for denunciation, is thus already in place.