Hong Kong Privacy Commissioner rules that Worldcoin violates privacy law and requires it to stop collecting iris and facial images

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data has completed an investigation into the Worldcoin project and has ruled that its operations in Hong Kong violate the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance. The Commissioner, Ada Chung, has issued an enforcement notice requiring Worldcoin to stop collecting iris and facial images of citizens using iris scanning devices. The investigation found that Worldcoin violated the principles of collecting, retaining, transparency, access, and correction of personal data under the Ordinance. The collection of facial and iris images was not necessary and exceeded the limits of appropriateness. The Commissioner also found that Worldcoin's retention of personal data for up to 10 years for the purpose of training an artificial intelligence model for identity verification was excessive.