Hong Kong's privacy watchdog on Wednesday raided premises linked to the cryptocurrency project Worldcoin over suspicions it has broken the law while scanning people's eyeballs in return for free tokens.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data said Worldcoin, which was founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, is suspected of mishandling the biometric data it has obtained – though Worldcoin disputes this.

The watchdog said documents were seized during raids on six premises which were authorised by a court warrant. No complaints regarding the iris-scanning had been made, the office added.

"Iris information is a kind of biometric data. Generally speaking, such data is unique, can't be changed and can be regarded as sensitive personal data," said Lo Dik-fan, a senior personal data officer.

"The public should carefully protect their personal data, and avoid participating in any activities that collect sensitive personal data, such as iris-scanning arbitrarily."

Worldcoin released a statement saying any personal information it gathers is quickly deleted.

"Worldcoin was established to help create access and participation in the global digital economy while preserving privacy," the statement said. "Worldcoin does not seek to know who a person is, just that they are human and unique. As such, any information used to verify unique humanness is promptly deleted by default."

It added that it welcomes any inquiries by regulators and consumers about its various initiatives, and is "committed to full compliance" with privacy laws and regulations in Hong Kong and elsewhere.

Worldcoin's website says more than three million people in 120 countries have signed up for the project which is "designed to become the world's largest digital identity and financial network".

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Last updated: 2024-02-01 HKT 11:49