Labour-sector lawmaker Lee Kwok-yu has proposed that food-delivery platforms add iAM Smart identity verification and link their checks with Immigration Department records. He also suggested that housing estates use iAM Smart dynamic QR codes to verify couriers entering their premises, potentially replacing requests to show a physical identity card.
Lee said the measures were intended to address suspected illegal work and the alleged sharing of platform accounts. He said some couriers might pass orders to other people for delivery, citing cases where a large number of orders appeared within a short period and questioning whether one person and one bicycle could complete them.
Under his proposal, couriers could be asked to place their identity cards near a mobile phone during facial-recognition checks, using iAM Smart’s near-field communication function to strengthen the verification. For estate access, property managers could use a courier’s personal dynamic QR code instead of requiring the person to present a physical identity card. Lee said an iAM Smart account can only be installed on one phone.
Delivery platforms currently mainly require the registered account holder to undergo facial recognition at irregular intervals to prevent account misuse, according to the report. Lee said the accuracy of privately developed systems could be affected by factors including beards and different types of hats.
Lee also said platforms had removed more than 1,000 accounts suspected of involving illegal workers. The reports did not identify the platforms involved or provide independent verification of the figure. He estimated that there were about 7,000 to 8,000 active couriers, with roughly 80 per cent using bicycles or motorbikes; those figures were also attributed to him and were not independently verified.
Lee and related unions have proposed a cross-sector reporting and data-referral platform. It would collect information from unions, delivery platforms and members of the public, then refer cases to the Immigration Department or Labour Department where appropriate.
Lee said platforms were relatively open to trying iAM Smart and that the service could be used free of charge. Reports said he met the Labour and Welfare Bureau and the Digital Policy Office on Tuesday, while another account described a meeting involving unions, platforms and government departments; the supplied information does not establish whether these were the same meeting. It also remains unclear which platforms, government bodies or property managers will adopt the checks, or whether the proposed links to Immigration Department records have received the necessary legal, privacy and technical approvals.