Worldcoin Raided by Privacy Commissioner

Court Warrants Executed in Hong Kong

_{In a super interesting but perhaps unsurprising development, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) executed court warrants on 31 January 2024 and entered six premises of the Worldcoin project to carry out investigations. The PCPD said these premises are located at Yau Ma Tei, Kwun Tong, Wan Chai, Cyperport, Central and Causeway Bay.}

Source: GIPHY

_{The PCPD press release states:}

_{PCPD is concerned that the operation of Worldcoin in Hong Kong involves serious risks to personal data privacy, and believes that the collection and processing of sensitive personal data by the relevant organisation may be in contravention of the requirements of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (PDPO).}

_{According to the PCPD, based on intelligence collected, participants of the Worldcoin project need to let the relevant organisation collect their iris information through iris scanning to obtain a registered identity referred to as ‘World ID’. PCPD said Worldcoin referred to it as a human passport for the Internet, after which the participants would receive free cryptocurrency Worldcoin tokens.}

_{“members of the public should carefully protect their sensitive personal data and avoid participating in any activities that collect sensitive personal data, such as iris scanning, arbitrarily.”}

- Privacy Commissioner, Ms Ada CHUNG Lai-ling

_{As at today’s date, World ID has 3.24 million sign-ups across 120 countries having launched a little over half a year ago. The Worldcoin site has a running/live counter which states it has processed over 23.42 million wallet transactions by World App users.}

Questionable privacy practices?

_{The website’s heading reads ‘For every human – privacy-first. Owned by everyone.’ However, the PCPD does not seem to be buying it…}

Source: Rossche, Wikimedia Commons

_{I did not see any mention of PCPD’s action on Worldcoin’s site. However, in a post from 1 February 2024 titled ‘How Worldcoin engages with policymakers and ensures compliance’, reads:}

_{concerns about data protection and individual privacy are at the forefront of many regulatory agendas. Importantly, Worldcoin is designed to be fully compliant with all laws and regulations governing data collection and data transfer.}

_{I’m not surprised by this announcement, as I have for a long time been highly skeptical about Worldcoin’s representations regarding compliance with data protection laws.}

A potential geopolitical angle…

_{The PCPD action is also not particularly surprising given the Chinese government’s stance towards cryptocurrency generally, and the fact that Worldcoin is an open-source protocol. It looks to be completely antithetical to the principles of centralised control, for which the Chinese government is often maligned.}

Source: SKopp, Wikimedia Commons

_{In this era of growing geopolitical tensions, this action by the PCPD could, on one view, be politically motivated given Worldcoin’s links to the United States. It could also be motivated by China’s ambitions to grow its central bank digital currency, the digital yuan (e-RMB), domestically and internationally.}

A cynical take

_{I’ve never been a fan of the Worldcoin project, as from the outset it seemed very scammy to me, and rife with risks of various types of exploitation. Perhaps this is why Worldcoin’s User Terms and Conditions (Version 3.4) state:}

_{Worldcoin tokens are not intended to be available for use, purchase, or access by US persons, including US citizens, residents, or persons in the United States, or companies incorporated, located, or resident in the United States, or who have a registered agent in the United States. We do not make Worldcoin tokens available to such US persons.}

_{Perhaps they felt it would be better to foist this on others before doing something off in their own backyard…}

_{Call me cynical, but I expect to see further actions against Worldcoin in other jurisdictions in the future. Worldcoin has already attracted the ire of an authority in Argentina and I’m sure there are many other regulators looking at it very closely.}

_{As the saying goes, where there’s smoke, there’s fire.}

Source: GIPHY

_{Watch this space…}