Republic of Korea: Issued ruling in PIPC investigation into Worldcoin's collection and processing of personal data

On 26 September 2024, the Personal Information Protection Commission of South Korea issued a ruling imposing a fine of KRW 720 million and KRW 379 million against Worldcoin Foundation and Tools for Humanity Corporation respectively for violating the Personal Information Protection Act. Tools for Humanity manages the World App and processes personal data, including biometric information, for Worldcoin users. The ruling highlighted that the companies did not comply with the obligations of the Act when transferring data overseas, including informing the data subjects of the purpose of data collection and the duration of retention. The ruling mandates Worldcoin to ensure separate consent for the processing of sensitive information, restrict the use of personal data to its original purpose of verification for World ID and provide effective deletion mechanisms upon request. The ruling also directed Tools for Humanity Corporation to implement age verification for users under 14 when signing up for the World App, which has around 93'463 downloads and nearly 30'000 completed iris verifications as of 6 September 2024.