Worldcoin data collection investigated by French privacy regulator

The Worldcoin (WLD) project, which has gained notoriety due to its controversial iris-scanning biometrics, is currently being investigated by France’s data privacy regulatory agency.

The Commission Nationale de I’informatique et des Libertés (CNIL), an agency in France responsible for ensuring data privacy, has launched an investigation into Worldcoin, according to an emailed response to Reuters as revealed on July 28. 

The French regulator raised concerns about Worldcoin’s data collection method, telling the publication that “the legality of this collection seems questionable, as do the conditions for storing biometric data.” 

Also, the CNIL disclosed that it was investigating in collaboration with authorities in Germany. Britain’s data regulator said it would conduct “further investigations” on the project. 

Following its launch on July 24, Worldcoin, co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has seen mixed reviews, with some hailing the initiative and others have criticized it. 

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who previously expressed his opinion on Worldcoin, highlighted four major risks associated with the project’s proof-of-personhood (PoP) system: privacy, security, centralization, and accessibility.  

While the crypto initiative recorded over two million pre-sign-ups, interest seemed to have waned. However, Sam Altman claimed there have been “crazy lines around the world,” with one user verified every eight seconds while showing a video of a long line of people waiting to use the iris-scanning technology.