Portugal Orders Worldcoin to Halt Biometric Data Collection

Worldcoin offers a digital ID and free cryptocurrency to those who allow its "orb" devices to scan their faces.

Worldcoin suffers another setback in Europe with its “proof of personhood” scheme to increase the number of people signing up by scanning their eyes to verify that they are human.

On March 26, the Portuguese National Data Protection Commission (Comissão Nacional de Proteção de Dados, or CNPD) gave Worldcoin an order to stop gathering personal data for ninety days.

Worldcoin is an initiative to establish a global digital identity system by fusing Bitcoin with iris scanning technology. It was launched in 2019 with the help of Tools for Humanity (TFH), a business created by Alex Blania, Max Novendstern, and Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI.

Worldcoin offers a digital ID and free cryptocurrency to those who allow its “orb” devices to scan their faces. On Worldcoin’s website, over 4.5 million users from 120 countries have registered.

According to Portugal’s data authority, the CNPD, there was a high risk to citizens’ rights to data protection, which called for immediate action to avert grave consequences. According to the CNPD, more than 300,000 Portuguese citizens have given Worldcoin their biometric information.

According to the regulator, it has been inundated with complaints in the past month concerning “deficiencies in the information provided to the data subjects,” “the impossibility of erasing the data or withdrawing consent,” and unauthorized data gathering from minors.

The Worldcoin Foundation’s data protection officer, Jannick Preiwisch, stated that Worldcoin complied “fully with all laws and regulations governing the collection and transfer of biometric data.”

He said, “The report from CNPD is the first time we are hearing from them regarding many of these matters, including reports of underage sign-ups in Portugal, for which we have zero tolerance for and are working to address in all instances.”

Worldcoin initiated a “Personal Custody” shift in March, giving users control over their data, including deletion and future use. The CNPD temporarily halted data collection for further investigation and scrutiny of concerns.

Also Read: Worldcoin Introduces Personal Custody for User Data Control

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