The Hong Kong Government Information Director’s Office (OGCIO) revealed that the territory was investigating the use of its digital identity in mainland China.
In a question-and-answer session, Innovation and Technology Secretary Alfred Sit said, “OGCIO is exploring with relevant authorities on the mainland and Macau the opportunities for collaboration between their systems of identity authentication and iAM Smart “.
iAM Smart is a marketing abbreviation for “Internet Access by Mobile in a Smart wayâ€. It was launched in December 2020 as a “single digital identity†and authentication tool for government transactions. Adopters received the promise of a one-stop-shop for electronic forms and complete documents, renewing car licenses, paying taxes and bills, registering to vote, booking vaccines, checking status vaccines and more.
Secretary Sit said that opportunities to use iAM Smart across borders include “mutual recognition of electronic signature certificates to promote cross-border e-commerce applications, facilitating the use of iAM Smart by citizens of Hong Kong to log into various online services, conduct online transactions and perform digital operations. Sign with legal support.
Sit promised more details in due course.
The project adopted a cute little green cartoon character, which may or may not be an anthropomorphic keychain, to explain it to you:
Youtube video
Since launch, I am smart recorded more than 600,000 registrations. Sit argued that the participation rate of 8.7% of eligible people is quite healthy, given the adoption rates after six months of similar technology programs by other countries – for example Belgium (2.6% ), Estonia (3.6%). and Singapore (4.0 percent).
Currently, more than 110 government services are included in the app, with 180 expected by the end of 2023.
While “cross-border e-commerce applications” may seem trivial, sharing data with mainland China may raise eyebrows given Beijing’s gradual tightening of hold over Hong Kong. ®
