Worse news came from another country for Worldcoin, which has been at the center of investigations since the day it was launched.
According to Reuters, Worldcoin has been ordered to stop collecting biometric data in Portugal.
Portugal's data regulator CNPD announced today that it has ordered Sam Altman's iris scanning project Worldcoin to stop collecting biometric data for 90 days.
While Worldcoin encouraged people to have their faces scanned with “orb” devices in exchange for a digital ID and free cryptocurrency, many people got iris scans. According to Worldcoin's website, more than 4.5 million people in 120 countries have scanned and registered.
Stating that they took urgent action due to the high risk and great harm to citizens' data protection rights, CNPD said that more than 300,000 people in Portugal have registered with Worldcoin by scanning their biometric data.
On this point, the CNPD added that in the past month it has received numerous complaints about “unauthorized collection of data from minors”, “deficiencies in the information provided to data subjects” and “the impossibility of deleting data or withdrawing consent”.
Worldcoin Foundation's chief data protection officer, Jannick Preiwisch, said of the CNPD's cease-and-desist order, stating that Worldcoin is “fully compliant with all laws and regulations governing the collection and transfer of biometric data.”
“The cease-and-desist order from the CNPD is the first we've heard from them regarding many of these issues, including reports of underage registration in Portugal; we have zero tolerance for them and try to address them in every case, even if there is an issue.”
Worldcoin continues to rise despite the negative news from Portugal. WLD, which has increased by 8.5% in the last 24 hours, continues to trade at $ 9.12.
*This is not investment advice.