Summary
Hong Kong’s Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) has entered the offices of Worldcoin over concerns that the company has mishandled biometric data obtained through iris scanning. The PCPD suspects that Worldcoin’s collection and processing of sensitive personal data may violate Hong Kong’s Personal Data Privacy Ordinance. The PCPD has initiated an investigation to protect the privacy of the public. In response, the PCPD has advised citizens to carefully consider the legitimacy, purpose, use, disclosure, retention period, and safety precautions of providing biometric data. Worldcoin is an identity-focused project that uses iris scanning and offers WLD tokens as an incentive. The price of WLD has decreased by over 10% in the past 24 hours. Worldcoin has yet to comment on the investigation.
Key Points
1. Worldcoin’s Hong Kong offices are being investigated by the jurisdiction’s privacy watchdog over suspicions of breaking the law while scanning people’s irises in exchange for WLD tokens. The Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data is concerned about the potential mishandling of biometric data by Worldcoin.
2. The Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data has commenced an investigation against Worldcoin, believing that the collection and processing of sensitive personal data may contravene Hong Kong’s Personal Data Privacy Ordinance. The commissioner advises the public to protect their sensitive personal data and avoid participating in activities that collect such data arbitrarily.
3. The Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data released a statement advising Hong Kong citizens to carefully consider key issues before providing their biometric data. These issues include assessing the legitimacy of data collection, understanding the purpose and scope of data collection, identifying the intended use and disclosure of the data, and inquiring about safety precautions for protecting the data.