South Korea launches probe on Worldcoin as privacy concerns mount

Quick Take

  • South Korea’s privacy authority announced an investigation on Worldcoin after receiving reports concerning the project’s collection of sensitive information.

South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission has launched an investigation on Worldcoin after receiving complaints about the project’s collection of personal information, especially in scanning people’s irises in return for cryptocurrency. 

The authority said in a press release on Monday that it will examine Worldcoin’s collection, processing and potential overseas transfer of sensitive personal information. It will take action against the project if it discovers any violation of the local privacy rules, the commission said.

The commission added that Worldcoin has been collecting information regarding people’s faces and irises at ten locations across South Korea as of Monday.

The privacy watchdog previously imposed a fine of 3.6 million Korean won ($2,703) on OpenAI last year, after it discovered that personal information belonging to 687 South Korean citizens were leaked via ChatGPT. Worldcoin was co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

Worldcoin, the identity-focused crypto project, utilizes an Orb device to scan people’s irises for verification purposes. In exchange for signing up to the protocol, participants receive WLD tokens. Other jurisdictions have also raised concerns about Worldcoin’s unconventional sign-up process, with Hong Kong being the most recent example

The price of Worldcoin fell 4.18% in the last 24 hours to $7.99 as of Asia afternoon on Monday, according to The Block’s Price Page.

Worldcoin did not immediately respond to The Block’s request for comment.


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About Author

Danny Park is an East Asia reporter at The Block writing on topics including Web3 developments and crypto regulations in the region. He was formerly a reporter at Forkast.News, where he actively covered the downfall of Terra-Luna and FTX. Based in Seoul, Danny has previously produced written and video content for media companies in Korea, Hong Kong and China. He holds a Bachelor of Journalism and Business Marketing from the University of Hong Kong.

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