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The National Privacy Commission (NPC) has ordered Tools for Humanity (TFH), the developer behind the World App and operator of the iris-scanning โOrbโ devices, to halt all operations in the Philippines.
NPC Order โ Worldcoin Cease-and-Desist Order
A copy of the cease-and-desist order was posted publicly by Jose Sutton (Joe) Belarmino II, Deputy Privacy Commissioner, on his LinkedIn profile. The directive cited alleged violations of the Data Privacy Act of 2012, its implementing rules and regulations (IRR), and related issuances.
According to the order:
- TFH must stop all activities connected to the World App and the use of Orb devices for biometric identity verification.
- The NPC also barred the availability of the World App for download through the Apple App Store, Google Play, or any other platform accessible within the Philippines.
- The order prohibits any further collection, transfer, or disclosure of personal or biometric data already gathered.
Situation at Establishments With Worldcoin Activities
In one of the Worldcoin orb-scanning locations, a notice from the NPC was put up advising the public of the cease-and-desist order:
The NPC said the action was issued under NPC Circular No. 2020-02, which allows ex parte cease-and-desist orders when continued operations may cause โgrave or irreparable harmโ or are deemed โdetrimental to public interest.โ
As of October 8, 2025, there is no more orb location listed in the Philippines on the World website.
NPC Urges Public to Report Worldcoin Violations
The Commission urged the public to report any continuing processing or use of data by TFH or World App to [email protected] or [email protected].
As of press time, the NPC has not released an official statement beyond the public notice. BitPinas has reached out to Tools for Humanity for comment but has not received a reply.
Previously Reported Worldcoin Activities
Earlier this year, Worldcoinโs iris-scanning activities were observed across Metro Manila. (Read more: Worldcoin Iris Scanning to Roll Out to Entire Philippines, Begins in Metro Manila)
Worldcoin and TFH have faced similar regulatory challenges abroad. In Germany, data regulators paused operations pending privacy updates, while Kenyaโs High Court ordered a halt to biometric data collection and processing.
Worldcoin has partnered with Razer previously to verify real players and stop AI bots from ruining online games. World Network is also reportedly discussing a partnership with Visa to integrate stablecoin payments into its self-custody crypto wallet.
Full Copy of the NPC Advisory
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง (๐๐๐) ๐ก๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ซ ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ (๐๐ ๐), ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ซ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฉ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ข๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ง๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ ๐ค๐ง๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ซ๐. ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐ ๐ ๐ก๐๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ข๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐๐, ๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ (๐๐๐), ๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฌ.
๐๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฆ๐ค๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ต๐ข ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ช๐ท๐ข๐ค๐บ ๐ณ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ฑ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ด, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ด ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ญ๐บ ๐ค๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ด๐ช๐ด๐ต ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ซ๐ถ๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ฅ๐ช๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด:
๐. ๐๐๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ง๐ฅ๐จ๐๐, ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ ๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐, ๐๐จ๐จ๐ ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐, ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ง๐ฒ ๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐ง๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฆ๐.
๐. ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ฎ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ ๐ข๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ข๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ข๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ฅ๐จ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ. ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฌ, ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ, ๐๐ข๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ง๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ , ๐ซ๐๐ ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง, ๐จ๐ซ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐จ๐๐ข๐๐ญ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐.
๐. ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐๐๐ซ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ , ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ , ๐จ๐ซ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ง๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ง๐๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ญ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ก๐๐ฌ ๐๐ฅ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ ๐จ๐ซ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐ข๐จ๐ซ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐ฌ๐-๐๐ง๐-๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ซ.
๐๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฏ๐ข๐ฌ๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ ๐๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ซ. ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ฌ๐ ๐ฌ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ง๐ฒ ๐ข๐ง๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ซ๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ ๐ฐ๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ซ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐, ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐๐ฌ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฆ๐๐๐ข๐๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐:
๐ง ๐ข๐ง๐๐จ@๐ฉ๐ซ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐๐ฒ.๐ ๐จ๐ฏ.๐ฉ๐ก ๐ง ๐๐ง๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ@๐ฉ๐ซ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐๐ฒ.๐ ๐จ๐ฏ.๐ฉ๐ก
This article is published on BitPinas: Breaking: Worldcoin Hit with Cease and Desist Order in Philippines Over Privacy Violations
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