🇰🇷  Worldcoin hit with $850K fine in South Korea

Worldcoin Foundation and Tools for Humanity have received a rap over the knuckles from South Korean authorities for the illegal collection and transfer of biometric data.

The Personal Information Protection Commission announced on Sept. 26 that it had imposed a fine of 1.1 billion Korean won ($850,000) against Worldcoin and its contributor Tools for Humanity.

The nation’s privacy watchdog said it started probing #Worldcoin (#WLD ) earlier after complaints and local media reports alleged the project of collecting biometric data in exchange for cryptocurrency without proper consent or legal basis.

The investigation found that the Worldcoin Foundation and Tools for Humanity, which managed the World App cryptocurrency wallet, violated South Korean laws by illegally collecting iris data from nearly 30,000 Korean users without proper consent or legal basis. 

Additionally, it transferred this biometric data abroad without informing users of the recipient countries or contact details, as required by local regulations. The Worldcoin Foundation also failed to provide clear notifications about the data’s purpose, retention period, and other mandatory details, with the consent form initially available only in English, limiting understanding for local users until a Korean version was released in March 2024, the commission said.

In defense, Worldcoin argued that the iris code data was used solely to prevent duplicate registrations and could not identify individuals, suggesting it was anonymous. However, the Commission rejected this claim, emphasizing that the iris code data was inherently unique, immutable, and directly linked to the individual.

Worldcoin’s controversial iris scanning has drawn the attention of regulatory bodies including from India, Hong Kong and Germany.

Singapore has revealed that it opened an investigation into individuals suspected of offering buying and selling services related to Worldcoin.