TechFlow news — On September 26, according to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea's Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) imposed a total fine of 1.104 billion won (approximately $8.31 million) on the Worldcoin Foundation and its contracted third party, Tools for Humanity (TFH), for violating personal data protection laws by collecting iris data from approximately 30,000 users in South Korea without proper consent and illegally transferring the data overseas. The Worldcoin Foundation was fined 725 million won for improper handling and cross-border transfer of sensitive information, while TFH was fined 379 million won for breaching regulations on data出境 transfers.
In addition, TFH failed to effectively verify users' ages during registration, allowing children under 14 to sign up. The PIPC has ordered both companies to improve consent procedures for processing sensitive information, restrict data usage scope, provide effective data deletion mechanisms, and implement age verification within the World App. Worldcoin stated it respects the PIPC's decision and will continue engaging in dialogue with regulators.·
