Portugal orders Sam Altman’s Worldcoin to halt data collection
Portugal's data protection authority has ordered Worldcoin, an iris-scanning initiative led by Sam Altman, to stop collecting biometric data for 90 days. The idea encourages users to scan their faces with its "orb" devices in return for a digital ID and free bitcoin. Over 4.5 million people across 120 countries have joined up for Worldcoin, with more than 300,000 in Portugal supplying biometric information. The CNPD has received complaints regarding the unauthorized gathering of data from minors, flaws in information supplied to data subjects, and the inability to erase or withdraw consent. Worldcoin also went to "Personal Custody" in March, allowing consumers more control over their data. The CNPD stated that the order to suspend data collecting was only temporary while it conducted extra due diligence and reviewed concerns as part of an investigation. Worldcoin aspires to create an "identity and financial network" that will allow people to demonstrate their humanity in an artificial intelligence-driven future. The corporation is under investigation in several countries, and privacy activists have criticized it for collecting personal data. The Bavarian state regulator is leading the investigation against Worldcoin under European Union data protection regulations.
