Hong Kong's Privacy Office Hits Worldcoin Project for Privacy Ordinance Violations
Summary:
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) of Hong Kong has ruled against the Worldcoin project for breaching the Privacy Ordinance. The project was found to be collecting facial and iris images unnecessarily for identity verification. Insufficient information and non-availability of privacy notice in Chinese also led to a disregard for informed consent. The PCPD probe further revealed an unwarranted retention of sensitive biometric data, leading to a halt of all Worldcoin operations that involved public scanning in Hong Kong.
The Personal Data Privacy Office (PCPD) of Hong Kong has wrapped up its probe into the Worldcoin initiative, and discovered that Worldcoin's activities in the region contravened the Privacy Statute. The Privacy Commissioner, Chung Liling, issued a directive on May 22 to the Worldcoin Foundation, compulsorily halting all Hong Kong-based Worldcoin ventures that engage in the public collection and scanning of facial and iris images using iris scanning apparatus.
The PCPD initiated an investigation into Worldcoin in January 2024, aiming to ascertain whether the identity confirmation component of the Worldcoin venture posed substantial threats to residents' personal data confidentiality and breached Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance specifications. This followed covert inspections by the PCPD at six locations linked with Worldcoin from December 2023 until January 2024.
The PCPD stated that facial image capture was superfluous for affirming the humanity of participants, given that the in-person identity verification capabilities of iris scanner operators were already sufficient, rendering facial image scanning and collection extraneous.
The PCPD took issue with Worldcoin's failure to furnish adequate details, which thwarted informed decision-making and genuine consent. The probe found Worldcoin's Privacy Notice was not available in Chinese language, meaning non-English speakers were unable to grasp the project's policies, practices, terms, and conditions. The PCPD noted: “…operators of the iris scanning device at the locations of operation didn’t provide explanations or ensure participants' comprehension of related documents. They also failed to notify participants about potential perils related to their biometric data disclosure, or to answer their queries.” In light of these matters, the acquisition of facial and iris imagery was deemed as unjust and illegal by PCPD, contravening Data Protection Principle (DPP) 1(2).
The investigation by PCPD concluded that Worldcoin's storage of sensitive biometric data, which included facial and iris images, for up to a decade purely for AI model training was unwarranted. It was confirmed by Worldcoin that 8,302 individuals had their faces and irises scanned for identity confirmation whilst the project was ongoing in Hong Kong.
Worldcoin kicked off in 2021, with over two million people registering ahead of the official project launch in July 2023. Many nations' regulatory bodies have scrutinized the project due to data privacy concerns, resulting in service suspension in Kenya and the halting of iris scanning in India.
Published At
5/22/2024 10:18:29 AM
Disclaimer: Algoine does not endorse any content or product on this page. Readers should conduct their own research before taking any actions related to the asset, company, or any information in this article and assume full responsibility for their decisions. This article should not be considered as investment advice. Our news is prepared with AI support.
Do you suspect this content may be misleading, incomplete, or inappropriate in any way, requiring modification or removal?
We appreciate your report.