Hong Kong authorities are investigating Worldcoin over privacy issues
Hong Kong's Office of the Personal Data Privacy Commissioner (PCPD) has announced an investigation into local operations of identity verification project WorldCoin, citing “serious risks to personal data privacy”.
In the year In a January 31 announcement, the PCPD said it had executed warrants and entered six premises controlled by WorldCoin in Hong Kong as part of an investigation into the project. The commission requested documents and information and warned Hong Kong residents to consider how their biometric data is used. WorldCoin uses iris-scanning orbs for users to authenticate themselves.
The PCPD is concerned that the operation of WorldCoin in Hong Kong involves serious risks to the privacy of personal information and believes that the collection and processing of sensitive personal information by the relevant organization may be in violation of the requirements of personal information (privacy). Ordinance,” PCPD said.
According to the PCPD, any personal data under WorldCoin's control “must be collected for a lawful purpose” in connection with the operation or activity of the project. The commission said the data collected from users Iris is “sensitive” according to regulatory guidelines.
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Worldcoin was launched in 2015. Announced to start in 2021, more than 2 million people signed up before the project was officially launched in July 2023. The project has drawn the attention of regulators in many countries over privacy concerns, which led to the suspension of its service in Kenya and Iris Scan. In India.
According to WorldCoin, By December 2023, more than 5 million people had created an account using their identity. Cointelegraph called Worldcoin for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
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