China has issued a stern warning against cryptocurrency projects that collect biometric data, asserting that such activities pose a significant threat to national security. This move underscores Beijing's ongoing vigilance over digital financial innovations, especially those involving sensitive personal information.
China's Stance on Biometric Data
The Ministry of State Security (MSS) recently announced its concerns via WeChat, specifically cautioning against the collection of sensitive biometric identifiers like iris scans, facial recognition, fingerprints, and gait recognition. The Ministry explicitly stated that while these technologies are crucial in the digital era, they are also highly susceptible to privacy breaches, data leakage, and risks to national security. Citizens have been urged to report any suspicious activities related to biometric data collection to the national security agencies.
Worldcoin and Implied Warnings
Although not directly named, projects like Worldcoin, which offers cryptocurrency tokens in exchange for iris scans to create a unique "humanity layer" in a post-AI world, appear to be the implied target of this warning. Worldcoin aims to distinguish humans from increasingly sophisticated AI bots by verifying unique human identifiers. However, its data collection methods have already led to bans and scrutiny in several jurisdictions globally, including Kenya, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, and Hong Kong. China's latest caution aligns with this global trend of increased regulatory oversight on biometric data collection by decentralized projects.
