The National Privacy Commission (NPC) underscored that its recent cease-and-desist order on Tools for Humanity’s ORB or WorldApp is not a rejection of innovation but a necessary safeguard for human dignity in the face of emerging technologies.

In a statement titled “Safeguarding Dignity in the Age of Emerging Technology,” the NPC said that while the technology behind the app is promising, its use of financial incentives to obtain sensitive biometric data raises serious ethical and privacy concerns.

“Offering substantial cryptocurrency and other financial incentives in exchange for people, especially poor Filipinos, consenting to iris scans is not digital inclusion; but a form of consent by necessity, disguised as choice,” the statement read.“When consent is bought, it is not freely given and ceases to be genuine.”

The NPC warned that once collected, biometric data such as iris scans could be used in unpredictable ways — from surveillance to discrimination — and questioned whether Filipinos should normalize turning human eyes into economic assets.

“Are we truly ready to entrust a foreign private company with our most intimate personal data—our unique iris—on the assurance that it can keep them secure and private?” the statement continued.

The commission cited similar actions abroad, noting that Brazil’s National Data Protection Authority ordered Tools for Humanity to stop offering cryptocurrency rewards for iris scans, while Spain’s Data Protection Agency directed the deletion of all collected biometric data — a ruling upheld by the Spanish High Court.

According to the NPC, these global measures reflect “a growing consensus that innovation cannot come at the expense of human dignity.”

“The National Privacy Commission’s cease-and-desist order on WorldApp is not anti-technology—it is a safeguard for responsible innovation,” it said.“This pause is not a rejection of progress but a reminder that real progress protects people first.”

The agency concluded its statement with a call for ethical innovation:

“Let us promote technology that empowers, not exploits. Let us innovate with ethics, responsibility, and progress with dignity.”