Regulation
Worldcoin biometric data collection violates privacy laws: Hong Kong regulator
The controversial Worldcoin project has faced a new setback. Hong Kong’s privacy regulator, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD), has ordered the Worldcoin Foundation to suspend all its operations in the region, saying its practices violate the local privacy regulations.
The PCPD released a statement this week revealing that Worldcoin had collected facial and iris biometric data from at least 8,302 people during its operations in Hong Kong.
After conducting 10 secret inspections at six Worldcoin sites in December 2023 and January 2024, the agency determined that such extensive collection of biometric information was “unnecessary and excessive.” It added that such actions violated data protection principles under Hong Kong’s privacy laws.
Checking humanity: a conundrum
The Hong Kong PCPD sharp said Worldcoin would retain personal data for up to 10 years to train AI models for the user verification process, a period the agency said would be “too long.” The PCPD also said there are “less privacy-intrusive” alternatives to proving humanity.
It is important to note that Hong Kong is not the only region that has objected to Worldcoin and its controversial iris-scanning orbs. In fact, the project led by Sam Altman has encountered difficulties in several regions regarding its digital identity collection. In March, South Korea opened an investigation following complaints about the project’s collection of personal information. Likewise, Spain and Portugal have asked the project to stop collecting users’ biometric data.
Unlike privacy advocates who have repeatedly weighed that Worldcoin is not a way to obtain proof of personality, Billy Luedtke, founder and CEO of a decentralized identity startup “Intuition”, welcomed the project.
While emphasizing the growing importance of verifying whether information comes from human sources amid rapid advances in AI, Luedtke asserted that Worldcoin and other decentralized identity projects are “actively addressing the challenge, providing tools to help individuals assert their humanity in an online world where human presence is distinguished. becomes more and more complex.
In a statement to CryptoPotato, the executive said:
“While concerns about data privacy remain valid, Internet usability suffers from an overflow of non-human activity, trust deficits, and fragmented identity landscapes. Encouraging dialogues between governments and industries, as well as innovations in privacy-preserving technologies like personal guarding, offer hope for continued progress and innovation in this area.
What does Hong Kong’s rejection of Worldcoin mean for crypto?
Jerry Li, co-founder and CEO of Artela Network, interprets Hong Kong’s shutdown of Worldcoin operations as an indication of its strict and proactive stance on crypto regulation, particularly regarding data privacy. data and biometric data collection.
This strict approach is likely to set a precedent in the APAC region, pushing other crypto projects to prioritize data privacy and compliance with local regulations, Li said in a statement to CryptoPotato.
However, the executive said the move does not imply that Hong Kong is hostile to cryptocurrencies.
“Worldcoin’s cessation of operations does not necessarily imply that Hong Kong is hostile to cryptocurrencies. Although Hong Kong has strict data privacy regulations, it continues to support the crypto industry through clear regulations, government initiatives, strong financial infrastructure, and industry support.