Hong Kong's privacy regulator found Worldcoin to be in violation of local privacy laws, and asked the Worldcoin Foundation to cease all operations in the region.

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

according to a report Released by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) on May 22, the project was found to contravene Hong Kong's Personal Data (Privacy) Act, posing privacy risks linked to the way the San Francisco-headquartered startup does business. Biometric data.

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

PCPD said the findings showed that Worldcoin's data collection practices were unfair and lacked transparency because the relevant privacy notice and biometric data consent form were not available in Chinese, adding that the operators did not adequately explain the documents to participants. Worldcoin retaining personal data for up to 10 years was also deemed excessive.

“The retention period was too long and amounted to a prolonged retention of personal data.”

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In addition, Worldcoin also 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 the Worldcoin Project in Hong Kong in scanning and collecting iris and facial images of members of the public using iris scanning devices.”

According to a PCPD investigation, more than 8,300 individuals in Hong Kong had their biometric data scanned to receive WLD, tokens designed to facilitate global transactions within the Worldcoin ecosystem. At the time of writing, Worldcoin has not made any public statements on this matter.

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