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Worldcoin shocked by multiple violations! Fined 1.1 billion Korean won by South Korea

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Worldcoin shocked by multiple violations! Fined 1.1 billion Korean won by South Korea

Local media reports that Worldcoin, founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, was recently fined 1.1 billion Korean won by the South Korean Personal Information Protection Commission for violating the Personal Information Protection Act.

Almost 30,000 People Complete Iris Recognition, Worldcoin Accused of Personal Data Transfer

The Personal Information Protection Commission announced on the 26th of this month that it has fined the Worldcoin Foundation and TFH, which was commissioned by Worldcoin to collect iris data. The commission stated that it received a complaint last February alleging that Worldcoin collected biometric information without permission in exchange for digital assets. In South Korea, 93,463 people downloaded the World App, and 29,991 of them underwent iris authentication.

Worldcoin and TFH were accused of collecting personal information such as iris data without proper legal basis and not meeting the country's requirements for personal information protection. Specifically, when collecting iris information in South Korea, they did not properly inform the individuals providing the data about the purpose of data collection, usage, and the storage and usage period.

Additionally, they did not notify the individuals providing the data when transferring the data to overseas countries such as Germany. Furthermore, Worldcoin did not provide a method to delete or suspend the processing of iris data, and TFH, responsible for implementation, did not use appropriate age verification procedures to prevent children under 14 from registering on the World App.

Fined 1.1 Billion Korean Won for Three Violations, Worldcoin Respects Commission's Decision

The Personal Information Commission fined the Worldcoin Foundation 725 million Korean Won for violating obligations related to sensitive information processing and overseas transmission. TFH was fined 379 million Korean Won for violating obligations related to overseas transmission, totaling approximately 1.1 billion Korean Won.

The authorities also made improvement recommendations to both companies to ensure they understand specific precautions when transferring personal data overseas. The Worldcoin Foundation was advised to establish a separate consent process when handling sensitive information, prohibit the use of personal information for other purposes, and provide a function to delete personal information.

TFH was also urged to introduce an age verification process in the World App. Despite the different restrictions on personal data in various countries, concrete improvement suggestions from the government, such as those in South Korea, can be helpful for World App to comply in different countries.

The head of the Personal Information Commission stated, "We have confirmed that all original iris data collected previously has been destroyed. We plan to take measures to ensure data will be deleted or destroyed according to individual requests."

Worldcoin responded by stating that they respect the commission's decision and said, "We consider the protection of personal information as a top priority, implementing the latest security measures and anonymization technology, and are engaging in meaningful dialogue with the Personal Information Commission to clarify this."