Brazil Bans Worldcoin
The iris-scanning digital ID project, World Network—previously known as Worldcoin—has been prohibited from offering cryptocurrency rewards to Brazilians in exchange for collecting their biometric data.
On January 24, Brazil’s National Data Protection Authority (ANPD) published an order, which prohibits the company behind the project, Tools for Humanity, from operating in Brazil starting from January 25. The decision followed an investigation, which was opened in November after the country introduced the World ID project.
The ANPD noted that paying with cryptocurrency could weaken the basis of user consent. According to Brazilian law, consent to process sensitive personal data must be free, informed, unequivocal, and specific to particular purposes. The agency warned about the risks of financial incentives on decision-making processes, especially for vulnerable people, as well as the irreversible and sensitive nature of the biometric data collected.
World Network, founded in 2019 by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, uses iris-scanning technology developed by San Francisco and Berlin-based Tools for Humanity to build a universal digital identity and financial network. However, the inability to delete collected biometric data further intensified privacy concerns.
In December, Germany’s data protection authority also imposed corrective measures on the project, requiring compliance with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).
The native token of the project, WLF, had depreciated by 8% over the past 24 hours to below $2. From its peak at $11.74 in March, the token had declined 83% since it launched in July 2023, according to CoinGecko.
