Biometrics on gig economy platforms spoofed in Brazil, hold appeal in US

The rise of the gig economy brings with it unchecked instances of child labor in Brazil. It’s also caused an increase in Identity theft and fraud, according to a U.S. report. Facial recognition may help, but early returns in Brazil are disappointing.

In Brazil, underaged workers circumvent face biometrics

Though major delivery apps in Brazil use face biometrics to combat child labor on their platforms, minors are circumventing the safeguard, according to Rest of World.

One restaurant owner said when an order is assigned to a female driver, the worker who arrives is usually a minor. Minors also tend to come on weekends, when restaurants are busiest.

A worker at a health-food restaurant said he saw around 18 to 20 underage boys collecting deliveries for iFood, a top delivery app in Brazil that uses face biometrics for identity verification. The system allows users to verify identities from a still photo, and multiple YouTube videos demonstrate how to circumvent the safeguard.

Accounts are registered in the names of people old enough to have them. The biometric spoof is carried out by presenting a picture of an adult, like “a person you live with or who lives close by” according to one youth, rather than a selfie.

Apps have resorted to asking customers and restaurant owners to report underage workers. However, none of those interviewed by Rest of World did so, stating they didn’t want to cause the minors’ accounts to be canceled.

The Brazilian government says that roughly 1.8 million children and adolescents have been working in the country as of 2019. Roughly 700,000 of these children are doing work that involves being on the street, which is considered to be one of the worst forms of underage labor, according to political scientist Tânia Dornellas.

Dornellas also calls out that regulations need to be accompanied by government assistance and school attendance monitoring in order to affect significant change in a society that normalizes underage labor among the Black and poor youth.

TransUnion report reveals demand for ID verification on gig platforms

Gig platforms must address concerns about fraud and identity theft to remain competitive as the gig economy expands. As many as 24 percent of Americans report fraud or identity theft while using gig platforms, compared to 10 percent outside of the platforms, according to a 2023 TransUnion report.

The majority of consumers (65 percent) and gig workers (57 percent) expect some form of identity verification when using the app.

Almost half of all consumers and 40 percent of workers would use face biometrics or a fingerprint scan as one of their preferences for identity verification on gig platforms.

Consumers and workers are more open to using one-time passcodes for shopping and onboarding respectively, with 65 percent of consumers and 57 percent of workers identifying one-time passcodes as a top preference.

Delivery platforms continue to steadily adopt biometrics, with Walmart Spark selecting Persona in the latest example.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  identity verification  |  selfie biometrics  |  spoof