South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission has initiated an inquiry into Worldcoin following complaints about the project’s gathering of personal data, particularly its practice of scanning individuals’ irises in exchange for cryptocurrency.
The commission stated in a press release on Monday that it will scrutinize Worldcoin’s activities concerning the collection, handling, and potential international transfer of sensitive personal data.
If any breaches of local privacy regulations are found, the commission has affirmed that it will take appropriate action against the project. Additionally, the commission disclosed that as of Monday, Worldcoin had been gathering data on people’s faces and irises at ten locations throughout South Korea.
Notably, the privacy regulator had previously fined OpenAI 3.6 million Korean won ($2,703) last year after discovering the leakage of personal information belonging to 687 South Korean citizens via ChatGPT.
Worldcoin, a cryptocurrency project centered on identity, employs an Orb device for iris scanning to authenticate individuals. Upon registering with the protocol, users are rewarded with WLD tokens.
Concerns have been raised in various regions, including Hong Kong, regarding the unorthodox registration procedure of Worldcoin.
