OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has been investigating the Worldcoin (WLD) project since late last year over concerns about large-scale processing of sensitive biometric data, the head of the German data supervisory agency told Reuters.
Launched last week, Worldcoin requires users to offer iris scans in exchange for a digital ID and free cryptocurrency in some countries, as part of plans to create a new “identity and finance network.”
The head of the state regulatory agency, Michael Will, told Reuters on Friday via email that the Bavarian State Data Protection Supervisory Office will launch Worldcoin in November 2022 amid concerns that the project aims to process “sensitive data at a very large scale” using new technologies. He said he started researching.
Will noted that the Bavarian state regulator is the lead official investigating Worldcoin under the European Union's data protection rules, as Tools For Humanity, the company behind Worldcoin, has a subsidiary in Germany.
Will said that these technologies have not yet been established and are not well analyzed for the main purpose of processing data in the field of financial information transfer.
Will said this poses a number of risks, including whether users expressly consent to the processing of their highly sensitive biometric data based on “adequate and clear” information.
Worldcoin argues that the data of users participating in the iris scan is not matched with personal information.
France's privacy oversight agency told Reuters on Friday that the legality of Worldcoin's data collection “seems to be questionable”. The UK's data regulator also said it would investigate the project.
*Not investment advice.
