Hong Kong orders Worldcoin to cease local operations, calls iris data collection ‘excessive’

Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog has ordered the Worldcoin Foundation to cease all operations in the region as it found the project contravenes local privacy regulations.

In a statement released Wednesday, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) said that Worldcoin had collected facial and iris data from at least 8,302 individuals during its operations in Hong Kong.

The PCPD, which conducted 10 covert visits at six Worldcoin locations in December 2023 and January 2024, said that such information collection was “unnecessary and excessive,” contravening the requirements of the Data Protection Principles.

“Worldcoin would retain personal data for a maximum of 10 years for the purpose of training AI models for the user verification process,” the watchdog said. “The PCPD considered that the retention period was too long and amounted to prolonged retention of personal data.”

The agency said it has issued an enforcement notice to Worldcoin, instructing it to halt all activities in Hong Kong. Privacy Commissioner Ada Chung urged the public to report to the agency if they find that Worldcoin is still operating in the city.

In March, Worldcoin announced that it would cease the collection of personal data. It plans to introduce a feature called “Personal Custody,” claiming it would allow users to store their data on their own devices.

Still, in recent months, Worldcoin has faced challenges in many jurisdictions over its digital ID collection. In March, South Korea launched a probe after receiving complaints about the project’s collection of personal information. Spain and Portugal have also told the project to stop collecting users’ biometric data.

Worldcoin did not immediately respond to The Block’s request for comment.