The Bavarian State Data Protection Supervisory Office (BayLDA) has initiated an investigation into the human identity verification project Worldcoin, expressing concerns about the handling of biometric data. According to Reuters' report on July 31, Germany's data watchdog began examining World Coin's activities in November 2022 . The project, which aims to distinguish between real users and bots using retinal scans for authentication, saw over 2 million users signing up before its token launch in July.
BayLDA's investigation was prompted by the usage of retinal scan data, which raised issues for the data protection authority. Michael Weir, the President of BayLDA, pointed out that such technologies have not undergone adequate analysis or demonstrated sophistication in safeguarding the transmission of financial information, Potentially putting Worldcoin users at risk. Notably, France's National Informatics and Liberty Council also labeled Worldcoin's data collection methods as "problematic," and the UK's Information Commissioner's Office expressed similar concerns. While Tools For Humanity , the company behind Worldcoin, has a subsidiary in Germany, the project has attracted interest from users worldwide.
Since its token launch, Worldcoin co-founder Sam Altman reported that iris scans have been verifying a new person every 8 seconds globally. The project has garnered attention from prominent figures in the crypto space, including ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and B lock CEO Jack Dorsey. Many cryptocurrency enthusiasts view the project as a potential means of providing aid to those impacted by the collapse of Three Arrows Capital and FTX, among other benefits.
Please note that the investigation by BayLDA and other data protection authorities highlights growing concerns over the handling and security of biometric data in emerging technologies like Worldcoin's human identity verification project.
