Hong Kong Halts Worldcoin's Data Collection over Privacy Issues

By: Isha Das

Hong Kong's Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) has prohibited Worldcoin from collecting data in the region due to privacy violation concerns, according to a recent notice.

The privacy regulator accused Worldcoin of collecting iris and facial images from over 8,300 residents using an iris-scanning device to verify user identity and generate iris codes in exchange for WLD tokens. Despite Worldcoin's assertion that biometric data is hashed and images are not stored, the regulator deemed the data collection unnecessary and excessive. The PCPD also criticized Worldcoin for not providing sufficient information to users, impeding informed consent, and noted the absence of a Chinese version of the privacy notice.

These actions align with intervention by other countries including Spain, Portugal, and Buenos Aires in Argentina. However, Worldcoin's adoption continues to grow, with the World App reaching 10 million users in less than a year.

Worldcoin has also received praise for its efforts in improving data privacy, supported by commendations from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, and has open-sourced its core technology to enhance user data control.