Spain Suspends Worldcoin Operations

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7 Mar 2024

Spain Suspends Worldcoin Operations

Spanish authorities have decided to temporarily halt Worldcoin's data collection through the "Orbs" eye-scanning sphere due to privacy risks associated with citizens' personal information.
According to the Financial Times, Spain’s data protection authority, AEPD, has requested Worldcoin – a project involving “eye scan” identification founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman – to immediately halt all data collection activities in the country through its “Orbs” spheres, and cease the use of data they had previously collected.
AEPD expressed concerns about the risks posed to users by Worldcoin’s “eye scan” technology, especially for minors. The regulatory body plans to announce “preventive measures” and give the project 72 hours to comply with the request.

❖ Spain blocks Sam Altman’s eyeball-scanning venture Worldcoin
Spain has moved to block Sam Altman’s cryptocurrency project Worldcoin, the latest blow to a venture that has raised controversy in multiple countries over plans to collect customers’ personal data using an…
— *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) March 6, 2024

Worldcoin (WLD) is a cryptocurrency project launched in 2021 by Sam Altman – who also holds the position of CEO at OpenAI, the company behind AI tool ChatGPT.
Worldcoin utilizes blockchain technology to establish a digital identification system called World ID – akin to a global digital passport. Upon registering an account and scanning their eyes with an Orb, users obtain a World ID and receive 25 free WLD tokens, the project’s native token. With its bold idea and the allure of “free money,” the project quickly attracted a large number of users who lined up to “sell” their personal data.
Worldcoin has garnered media attention and drawn in a significant number of users in Spain who queued up at booths in major shopping centers.
This news marks the latest blow to the ambitions of ChatGPT’s CEO Sam Altman, following a series of controversies in other parts of the world such as Kenya, India, Brazil, France, Germany, and the UK… due to the “eye scan” method. Most recently, 6 Worldcoin stores are under investigation by the Hong Kong authorities on suspicion of potential violations of user data privacy laws.
Data regulators view eye scans as a form of biometrics, similar to fingerprints, capable of containing sensitive data. Therefore, eye scanning is a data collection activity that may pose significant inherent risks and needs to comply with national data protection regulations.
However, legal barriers have not deterred Worldcoin’s progress, as the project continues to enhance its product. Worldcoin has been continuously upgrading its technology with “World ID 2.0,” and subsequently, its parent company OpenAI also launched Sora, a tool for creating videos from text, contributing to a surge in user registrations by over 4 million users, leading to WLD tokens peaking at $9.4.
Related: Worldcoin’s Office in Hong Kong is Under Investigation