Invasion of the world of cryptocurrencies: Hong Kong police officers step on the heels of Worldcoin

Hong Kong law enforcement agencies, acting on a court order, conducted searches at six offices of the Worldcoin cryptocurrency company. The operation was organized by the Office of the Hong Kong Data Privacy Commissioner (PCPD) in order to verify compliance with personal data protection legislation.

The official representative of the PCPD announced that any organization engaged in the collection and processing of personal data must strictly follow the established rules of confidentiality and standards of information protection. The investigation began due to suspicions that Worldcoin violated these principles in its activities in Hong Kong.

Worldcoin attracted attention by offering digital tokens to the user in exchange for biometric data, in particular, using retinal scanning. Such verification methods raise concerns about the security and confidentiality of personal data.

PCPD Commissioner Chung Lilin issued a warning to residents, advising them to carefully consider the decision to provide their biometric data, especially to companies whose actions raise doubts about their reliability.

Previously, it was recorded that Worldcoin stopped using retinal scanning to verify users in Brazil, India and France at the request of local law enforcement agencies. This decision may indicate the seriousness of the problems that have arisen related to the methods of collecting personal information by the company.

The further development of the situation and the results of the investigation by the Hong Kong Data Privacy Commissioner will certainly shed light on the adequacy of Worldcoin's actions in the field of personal data protection.