Worldcoin’s Hong Kong Operations Suspended Over Privacy Concerns

• Hong Kong privacy watchdog halts Worldcoin’s biometric data collection, citing violations
• Investigation finds Worldcoin’s practices overly intrusive, lacking transparency and consent
• Worldcoin ordered to stop iris scans, revise data policies, and improve communication with users

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) has determined that Worldcoin’s activities in Hong Kong violated the city’s Privacy Ordinance. Privacy Commissioner Chung Liling has issued an enforcement notice, ordering Worldcoin to cease collecting biometric information, including iris and facial images.

The PCPD’s investigation uncovered significant breaches of the Privacy Ordinance’s data protection principles. Key concerns included the collection, storage, access, rectification, and transparency of personal data. Worldcoin’s practice of collecting facial and iris images was deemed unnecessarily intrusive and excessive. Additionally, the retention period for this data – up to 10 years for training an artificial intelligence model used in identity verification – was criticized as unduly lengthy.

A critical issue identified was the lack of clear and comprehensi…

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