Sam Altman's eye-scanning crypto project Worldcoin needs to take a second look at its European operations

The German data agency investigating World over its data collection practices concluded today that the firm does not meet Europe's strict data privacy laws.

Sam Altman’s eye-scanning crypto project is facing another setback in Europe.

The German data agency investigating World over its data collection practices concluded today that the firm does not meet Europe’s strict data privacy laws.

“Worldcoin still has to do some homework,” Will told DL News in a phone call.

But that doesn’t mean they must stop their operations in the European Union, said Michael Will, the president of the Bavarian State Office for Data Protection.

The BayLDA report seen by DL News states that World — previously called Worldcoin — must allow users to delete their data from the application in order to become fully compliant.

“The data is still in a certain situation there, and you need to give people the opportunity and the methodology to ask for complete erasure,” he said.

The company has one month to comply with this change, among others, the report adds.

The BayLDA’s investigation into World began in November 2022. The probe sought to determine whether the project breached the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, by scanning people’s eyes.

World uses silver and white basketball-sized spheres to scan irises and convert the data into a string of letters and numbers, called an iris code.

This code generates a World ID, a digital passport that World says will help distinguish between who is human and what is an artificial intelligence program on the Internet.

For joining, users can opt-in to earn World’s native WLD cryptocurrency. The token is trading at $2.42, down 9% today.

Given the sensitive nature of biometric data, regulators across Europe have been cracking down on World. Authorities in Spain and Portugal barred the company from operating after they received complaints that minors were being scanned.

“There are many parents who now ask for erasure, especially in Portugal and Spain,” said Will.

“They question whether World did the right thing to protect children.”

Another investigation into these complaints is ongoing, he added. World declined to comment on this.

World appeals

World has already appealed the BayLDA’s decision.

The company no longer has the iris code data, and retrieving it for a specific person is not possible, a company blog post states.

“The BayLDA’s decision clearly illustrates the urgent need to establish a clear and consistent definition of anonymisation in the EU that will help protect personal data in the age of AI,” the company said today. “GDPR currently does not provide this.”

Next, a Bavarian court will examine the report’s findings and issue a judgment. These judges may even bring the case to the European Court Justice, the EU’s highest court.

“I’m a little bit afraid that we won’t see clarity on this issue for many months or years,” said Will.

Until then, World plans to continue operating — and expanding — in Europe.

Liam Kelly is a Berlin-based reporter for DL News. Got a tip? Email him at liam@dlnews.com.