BORACAY Island — Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) secretary Henry Aguda has clarified his stance on the controversial World App project, saying he respects the authority of the National Privacy Commission (NPC) to decide on the legal issues surrounding the iris-scanning technology.
Speaking at the 8th CXO Tech Summit at the Shangrila Boracay, Aguda said his earlier remarks about cooperating with World.org, developer of the World App, were meant to highlight the government’s openness to exploring new technologies — not to override the NPC’s regulatory authority.
“I leave the legal matters to the NPC, which is doing its job with prudence and caution,” Aguda said. “It’s better that our regulators are overly cautious, so that when they approve something, the public can be assured that it’s truly safe.”
The DICT chief explained that the agency’s role was limited to facilitating a sandbox trial of the technology, which uses iris scans to verify a user’s identity, similar to Captcha systems but powered by biometrics.
“The World App takes the retinal scans, hashes them, and divides them into fragments that can’t be reconstructed,” he said. “We were studying the technical side, not the legal side.”
Aguda acknowledged that when he mentioned the project in a previous Malacañang briefing, he was unaware that the NPC — an attached but independent body under the DICT — had already issued a cease-and-desist order (CDO) against Tools for Humanity (TFH), the company behind World.org.
The NPC cited alleged violations of the Data Privacy Act of 2012, including invalid consent and excessive data collection.
Following Aguda’s statement, the NPC reiterated that its official positions are expressed only through formal issuances approved by the commission en banc.
The clarification was seen as an assertion of its regulatory independence amid perceptions of internal policy tension within the DICT.
Despite the apparent rift, Aguda struck a conciliatory tone, saying that the issue underscores the value of dialogue between technology innovators and regulators.
“The important thing is that both sides are talking,” he said. “Innovation and regulation should not be at odds — they must move together to protect people while enabling progress.”
