Hong Kong Regulator Bans Worldcoin from Collecting Personal Data Due to Privacy Concerns
Hong Kong’s Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) has issued a notice on May 22 prohibiting Worldcoin from collecting data in the region. The regulator raised concerns over privacy violations related to the collection of iris and facial images from residents using an iris-scanning device.
According to the PCPD, Worldcoin collected data from 8,302 residents in Hong Kong in exchange for WLD tokens. While Worldcoin claims that the biometric data is hashed and no images of iris scans are stored, the regulator deemed the collection unnecessary and excessive, violating local privacy laws.
Additionally, the PCPD criticized Worldcoin for not providing enough information to users, hindering informed consent. The privacy notice was not available in Chinese, making it inaccessible to non-English speaking participants.
This enforcement action against Worldcoin aligns with similar measures taken by other countries such as Spain, Portugal, and Buenos Aires in Argentina for privacy violations.
Despite facing regulatory challenges, Worldcoin adoption continues to grow. The World App, the first wallet for the crypto project, reached 10 million users within a year of its launch.
Worldcoin has received praise for its efforts to improve data privacy, including commendations from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. In March, the company open-sourced the core software of its ORB technology and introduced new features to empower users to control their data usage.
Worldcoin co-founder Alex Blania emphasized the company’s commitment to working with regulators to enhance its operations.
