Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog accuses Worldcoin of violating data laws

Hong Kong’s privacy regulator found that Worldcoin was in violation of local privacy laws, requiring the Worldcoin Foundation to cease all operations in the territory.

Worldcoin, the iris biometric crypto startup co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has found itself embroiled in controversy over its data collection practices in Hong Kong.

The project was found to contravene Hong Kong’s personal data (privacy) regulations and pose privacy risks in San Francisco, according to a report published May 22 by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD). -centric startup manages biometric data.

Privacy Commissioner Ada Chung Lai-ling said the facial and iris images collected by the Worldcoin project were “unnecessary and excessive” and violated local requirements.

The findings showed that Worldcoin’s data collection practices were unfair and lacked transparency, with the relevant privacy notice and biometric data consent form not available in Chinese, the PCPD said, adding that the operators did not adequately disclose the documents to participants. Worldcoin’s retention of personal data for up to 10 years was also considered excessive.

“The retention period was too long and resulted in personal data being stored for a long period of time.”

Ada Chung

Additionally, Worldcoin appears to have failed to inform participants of their data access and correction rights, further violating privacy laws. As a result, the Privacy Commissioner issued an enforcement notice directing Worldcoin to “cease all operations of scanning and collecting iris and facial images of the public using the Worldcoin project’s iris scanning devices in Hong Kong.”

According to PCPD’s investigation, the biometric data of more than 8,300 people in Hong Kong were scanned to obtain WLD tokens designed to facilitate global transactions in the Worldcoin ecosystem. As of press time, Worldcoin has not made any public statement on the matter.

Founded in 2019 by Sam Altman, Max Novendstern and Alex Blania, Worldcoin is a crypto project that aims to create a global digital identity platform using iris scanning technology. In May 2023, the project raised $115 million in a Series C funding round led by Blockchain Capital with participation from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Bain Capital Crypto, and Distributed Global.