A report showed that France’s privacy regulator, CNIL, is probing Sam Altman’s Worldcoin over what it described as “questionable” biometric data collection. In a statement released on Friday, CNIL stated that it is aware of the controversial crypto project’s data needs and will investigate its legitimacy.
“The legality of this collection seems questionable, as do the conditions for storing biometric data. CNIL has initiated investigations,” the French regulator’s spokesperson stated.
Since its launch on Monday, Worldcoin has received a handful of scrutiny, first from Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin and then a host of other global regulators. The Ethereum boss raised concerns over the privacy, accessibility, and security of Worldcoin’s proof-of-personhood innovation.
The United Kingdom and Germany’s privacy regulators have also confirmed they will probe Worldcoin’s retina scanner to verify its safety. The Bavarian state authority in Germany is responsible for investigating privacy-related issues under EU law.
Skeptical Innovation
The Worldcoin innovation is the first proof-of-personhood crypto project launched in the market. Its concept is to use what it describes as World IDs to prevent robots from owning crypto wallets. The innovation uses retinal orb scanners to ensure that one person does not have more than one registered account at a time.
However promising the concept might seem, the whole issue around data privacy and security has proven to be a significant drawback for the project. The Worldcoin’s orb is said to be able to pick up sensitive data like the user’s sex, tribe, and even medical conditions. Security wise, hackers could use 3D printers to bypass the innovation and gain access to user accounts and World IDs.
We Comply With All Laws: Worldcoin
Earlier in the week, the British Information Commissioner’s Office confirmed it would also probe Worldcoin’s data-tasty innovation. It noted that Worldcoin should at least have a Data Protection Impact Assessment before collecting such personal information from users. Furthermore, the British regulator stated that users should willfully consent to the release of their data and should be able to retrieve it without repercussions.
The Sam Altman-owned crypto project earlier stated that its foundation complies with all regulations on processing users’ personal data.
“The Worldcoin Foundation complies with all laws and regulations governing the processing of personal data in the markets where Worldcoin is available, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the UK Data Protection Act,” Worldcoin’s spokesperson noted.
