EU governments doubling down on Digital ID

This video highlights Austria's aggressive push for a digital identity (ID Austria) and its potential implications, particularly the link to the upcoming digital euro. It details how the government is using both incentives and coercion to drive adoption, raising concerns about data privacy, government overreach, and the erosion of individual freedoms. The video also touches on broader societal issues in Austria, including a struggling healthcare system, increasing national debt, and questionable government spending.

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1. The Digital ID Push in Austria: From Lure to Force

The video begins with the speaker, Lily, sharing a personal experience that illustrates Austria's push for digital identity. She received a letter from her mandatory health insurance association, a governmental institute, stating they couldn't transfer a €100 bonus because they lacked her bank details. This was perplexing to her because:

"How is this possible? Because I've been a company for more than 10 years. How come they don't have my bank account if I'm paying them money quarterly uh with my social welfare taxes? Also, sometimes when there's too much money in my social welfare account, they are paying the money back to my bank account. So, they definitely have my bank account, right?"

The letter then directed her to input her bank information via the SVSO app or website, which required logging in with a digital identity app, specifically ID Austria, which she did not yet possess. This incident, she explains, is part of a broader strategy to "lure us in" and now "force us to use the digital identity."

1.1. Coercion in Action: Teachers and Farmers

The video provides concrete examples of how the digital ID is becoming mandatory:

• Teachers and the Socrates System: Previously, teachers could log into the Socrates system to input student grades with just a password. Now, a digital identity is required. A teacher who refused to use it due to "various data protection concerns" is being threatened with dismissal by the school principal. This is particularly concerning given the current teacher shortage and high burnout rates in Austria.
• Farmers and Subsidies: A documentary on an Austrian TV station revealed that farmers now need ID Austria to apply for crucial subventions. Lily, having worked as an accountant for farmers, emphasizes their reliance on these subsidies:

  "farmers really have the worst liquidity and they have the worst bank accounts right so before the harvest I was seeing numbers like minus 200, 300, 500,000 on their bank accounts and then comes the harvest and then they have like I don't know 20 grand on the bank account and then there will be subventions and actually it's those subventions um which make a life as a farmer possible here in Europe because otherwise with all of the cheap foods that are coming from abroad you would not be able to compete uh as a farmer in Austria. So farmers are really relying on suspensions." While there's an alternative to apply through the Austrian Chamber of Agriculture, it's "much much longer" and "more complicated," pushing many farmers to adopt the digital identity for convenience.

1.2. Challenges for Vulnerable Groups and Broader Mandates

The digital ID push presents significant challenges for certain demographics:

• Elderly People: Many elderly individuals "often don't have a smartphone and they don't even know how to use a smartphone." This makes downloading and using a digital identity app difficult, if not impossible.
• Mandatory for Financial Institutions: The government plans to make the digital identity mandatory for logging into Austrian financial institutions. As a company owner, Lily frequently checks her finances and taxes with the government online, and soon this will require the digital ID.

Lily concludes this section by stating:

"So basically they are slowly forcing the population uh to use the app but first they tried with a €100 bonus."

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2. The Digital Euro and Programmable Money: A Looming Threat

The rapid push for digital identity is directly linked to the European Union's plan to introduce the digital euro by the end of 2025. Lily explains the critical connection:

"So for the digital euro uh the citizens need a digital identity and this is why they want to quickly force people to download this app."

She warns about the significant risks associated with digital money, particularly its programmable nature:

• Direct Control by ECB: The plan is for citizens to hold their money directly with the European Central Bank, bypassing local banks.
• Spending Restrictions: The digital euro could allow authorities to control what citizens purchase and how much. Examples given include:
  • Limiting meat purchases: "with your digital money you cannot purchase I don't know uh more than 5 kg of meat in a month"
  • Restricting alcohol: "with this digital money you can only purchase like five bottles of wine in a month"
  • Carbon footprint tracking: "this food has so much CO2 produced so in an entire month you can only purchase I don't know how many um kilos of CO2 too and if you exceed that you cannot purchase more meat for example."
  • Travel limitations: "you have traveled too much this year so instead of going on holiday and flying two or three times a year you can only fly like every second year."

Lily emphasizes that this "ability to control uh what you can purchase with it um this unfortunately enables a government overreach." She expresses envy for Americans, believing they might have a temporary reprieve from these "World Economic Forum plans," while Europe faces a "really dire situation."

2.1. Personal Dilemma: Immigration to the USA

Lily addresses why she hasn't immigrated to the USA despite the challenging situation in Europe:

• Cost and Legal Hurdles: "it's not so easy to migrate to the US legally. So it cost you a whole lot of money. I think 100k just to pay uh the fees, the legal fees for the lawyer and so on."
• Family Responsibilities: She is not the sole decision-maker in her family. Her four-year-old son's well-being is a primary concern:

  "it would be bad for him to rip him out of his life right now and he has his friends here he loves his kindergarten he loves our house so I just don't want to do this to him when he's so young and also the schools here are still very good so I'm hoping that he can still go to school here, maybe study here in Austria and maybe in 20 years we are going to leave. But who knows? Who knows?" She concludes that if she were "single alone with no responsibilities, I would be gone already."

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3. Other Concerning Developments in Austria

Beyond the digital ID, Lily discusses several other concerning trends in Austria:

3.1. Messenger Surveillance

The government has agreed on "messenger surveillance," aiming for "easier access to our WhatsApp messages."

3.2. Pension System Crisis and Healthcare Decline

Austria faces a severe demographic challenge impacting its pension system:

• Shrinking Workforce Supporting Pensioners: In 1950, six working adults financed one pensioner. By 2025, three working people will support one pensioner, and by 2040, it will be two workers per pensioner.
• Push for Later Retirement: Politicians and industrialists are demanding Austrians work longer, potentially until 70 years old.
• Healthcare System Deterioration: Despite high health insurance and social welfare taxes, the healthcare system is "going down the drain." Patients now face long waits for surgeries, often resorting to paying €5,000-€7,000 privately or taking out loans to get timely treatment. Lily mentions a case where a woman's surgery was postponed five times.
• Discrepancy in Care: While citizens struggle, prisoners receive "quite expensive medical care," including free dental work. Lily contrasts this with her own experience: "if I as a working citizen have to um get my teeth like one tooth now I have been at a dentist would cost me €850. But if you go into prison, you get it for free." The Ministry of Justice also spends €4.3 million on psychologists and psychotherapists for prisoners.

3.3. Growing National Debt and Questionable Spending

Despite increasing taxes on Austrians, the national debt continues to grow, exceeding the €400 billion mark. Lily questions: "So, what are our politicians doing with the money?"

She highlights a concerning revelation about EU funds being dispersed to "questionable organizations" in Austria. A published list of NGOs sponsored by the EU included:

• "a journey between tennis clubs"
• "Central Asian Lesbians" (which surprised her: "Oh my god, I did not know that we have such a organization in Austria.")
• "migrant associations"
• "comparative studies and much more."

The EU spent a total of €7.4 billion on NGOs, leading Lily to conclude: "So, this is where our money is going."

3.4. Rising Costs and Mandatory Fees

Government expenses are driving inflation, leading to increased costs for citizens starting July 1st:

• Passport: €112 (up from €75)
• Driver's license: €90 (up from €60)
• Marriage fee: €74 (up from €50)
• Gun license: €110 (up from €75)
• Gun permit: €175 (up from €118)
• E-card (social healthcare): Twice as expensive
• Cigarettes: Price increase
• Medical transport: No longer always free

Additionally, all Austrian households are now forced to pay a fee for the governmental television station (OF1, 2, and 3), regardless of whether they watch it or own a TV or radio. This mandatory fee was reinstated after many people canceled it post-pandemic. Exemptions apply only to those receiving certain social benefits, such as unemployment, emergency assistance, student allowances, or minimum income pensions. Lily refers to this as "news from socialist Austria."

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Conclusion

Lily's video paints a concerning picture of Austria's trajectory, driven by the aggressive implementation of digital identity, which she links directly to the impending digital euro and its potential for unprecedented government control over citizens' lives and finances. Coupled with a struggling healthcare system, rising national debt, and questionable public spending, these developments suggest a significant erosion of individual freedoms and economic stability in Austria. The personal anecdotes and specific examples effectively highlight the real-world impact of these policies on ordinary citizens, from teachers and farmers to the elderly.