Hong Kong’s Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) issued an enforcement notice demanding that the Worldcoin project stop all its operations in Hong Kong due to significant lapses in its data privacy practices and consent protocols.
In a statement published on May 22, the privacy watchdog noted that it had concluded its investigations into the project and found that its operations in Hong Kong violated the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (PDPO).
Notably, the PCPD began its investigation in January 2024 to assess whether Worldcoin’s identity verification methods posed significant risks to personal data privacy and breached PDPO requirements.
The regulator noted that it conducted ten visits across six locations engaged in Worldcoin’s operations between December 2023 and January 2024 and two rounds of inquiries during its investigations.
The investigation found that collecting facial images was unnecessary for participant verification, as its operators could already verify participants’ humanness in person at these sites. The regulator claimed that proceeding to collect face and iris images was unfair and unlawful and violated data protection principles.
Moreover, the PCPD highlighted that Worldcoin failed to provide adequate information which could aid the participants in making informed decisions and giving genuine consent. It also stated that the privacy notice was not available in Chinese, and thus, non-English speakers could not understand the project’s policies and terms properly.
The PCPD stated:
“[…] the iris scanning device operators at the operating locations also did not offer any explanation or confirmed the participants’ understanding of the aforesaid documents. They also did not inform the participants of the possible risks pertaining to their disclosure of biometric data, nor answered their questions.”
The regulator also claimed that Worldcoin retained sensitive biometric data, including face and iris images, for up to ten years solely for AI model training, a practice deemed unjustified.
Ms. Ada Chung Lai-ling, the Privacy Commissioner, encouraged the public to report any instances of Worldcoin still operating with iris scanning devices in Hong Kong.
The story is still developing and will be updated as new information is obtained.
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