China issues Worldcoin 'iris recognition' warning… 'Threat to national security'

JOON HYOUNG LEE

Summary

The Ministry of State Security of China has warned that Worldcoin’s collection of biometric data such as iris information poses a threat to national security.
It was stated that the Worldcoin project operates on a system that rewards users with its own tokens when they register biometric information.
Chinese authorities also urged caution regarding the risks of misuse of biometric data by foreign companies and the resulting investment risks.

Chinese security authorities have issued a 'Worldcoin (WLD) alert.'

On the 6th (local time), according to CoinDesk, the Ministry of State Security of China (MSS) recently stated via its official social media account that “the misuse of biometric data poses a threat to national security.” CoinDesk reported, “The Ministry of State Security of China mentioned cases where foreign companies scan the irises of users worldwide and provide cryptocurrency as a reward,” adding that “the remarks were an indirect reference to Worldcoin.”

Worldcoin is the cryptocurrency project of Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. Worldcoin rewards users with its own tokens when they register biometric information such as iris data. CoinDesk stated, “(The Ministry of State Security of China) also mentioned cases in which foreign intelligence agencies used stolen facial data to forge identities and enabled spies to infiltrate certain locations.”

WLD