Hong Kong Regulator Issues Notice to Worldcoin Amid Privacy Concerns

Sam Altman’s iris-scanning project Worldcoin (WLD) faces yet another setback and this time it’s from the Hong Kong Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD). In the latest development, Privacy Commissioner Chung Lai-ling ruled that Worldcoin violated the privacy ordinance. As a result, they have asked Worldcoin to immediately stop collecting citizens’ facial and iris data via its orb devices.

Worldcoin’s Violations In Hong Kong

The investigation findings indicate that Worldcoin breached several data protection principles outlined in the Privacy Ordinance. This includes inadequacies in the collection, retention, transparency, access, and correction of personal data.

Notably, the gathering of facial and iris images was deemed unnecessary and excessive. Additionally, the retention period of up to 10 years for personal data, intended for training artificial intelligence models, was considered excessively prolonged by PCPD.

Furthermore, the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) highlighted that Worldcoin failed to clearly inform participants of their rights and the purpose of data collection, as required by law. Also, the regulator alleges that Worldcoin didn’t provide adequate information before or during data collection processes.

Moreover, the Privacy Statement and Biometric Data Consent Form lacked Chinese versions, and staff at operational points did not explain or confirm participants’ understanding of these documents. Additionally, Worldcoin failed to inform participants of the risks associated with disclosing biometric data or provide them with opportunities to address their queries.

Losing Another Major Market

Over the last year, Worldcoin has run into multiple regulatory headwinds. The project already isn’t operating in the US due to regulatory concerns, and now faces kickbacks from other global markets as well. However, it has continued to expand its footprint in other markets like Peru.

During its operations in Hong Kong, WorldCoin verified the identities of 8,302 individuals through facial and iris scan authentication.

Worldcoin’s native cryptocurrency WLD has seen strong action, especially on its assumed partnership with OpenAI, Sam Altman’s AI firm. The WLD price is currently trading above $5 with a market cap of over $1 billion.

Despite these regulatory setbacks, Worldcoin continues to work on project development and growth. Last month, the iris-scanning project announced its Layer-2 platform on Ethereum, World Chain, in order to swiftly onboard new users.