European Regulators Investigate Worldcoin Crypto Project’s Use of Eye Scans
Less than a week after its launch, the Worldcoin crypto project is facing scrutiny from European regulators over its reliance on eye scans for identity verification. The French data protection agency, CNIL, announced on Friday that it believes Worldcoin’s collection of biometric data may violate strict data privacy rules in Europe.
Worldcoin, initiated by OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman, aims to address one of the biggest challenges faced by the cryptocurrency industry – anonymity. The high level of anonymity in the industry makes it vulnerable to scams and spam bots, which artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to worsen. In an effort to combat this issue, Worldcoin utilizes eye scans as a means to verify users’ identities.
However, the use of biometric data collection has raised concerns. CNIL expressed doubt regarding Worldcoin’s data gathering activities in France, as well as the storage of biometric data. Consequently, CNIL identified the data protection agency in Bavaria, Germany as the lead agency in Europe to investigate Worldcoin, and they have pledged their support for the investigation.
Worldcoin launched in Germany back in June, with co-founder Alex Blania hailing from the country. The cryptocurrency and identification system aims to establish the world’s largest identity and financial public network, according to Altman and Blania. They maintain that Worldcoin offers a reliable solution for distinguishing humans from AI online while keeping privacy intact. This blockchain-based technology strives to expand economic opportunities and facilitate democratic processes.
When AFP reached out to Bavaria’s data protection agency for comment, they declined to provide an immediate response.
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