NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Weeks after its international launch, Worldcoin is drawing the attention of privacy regulators around the world, with the Kenya\u2019s government going so far as to shut down the service indefinitely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The international ID startup, backed by\u00a0big names in Silicon Valley, is now having to defend itself in investigations over whether the biometric data that the company is collecting is truly secure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s what to know about Worldcoin and the concerns its raising:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Worldcoin is the creation of\u00a0Sam Altman, best known as the CEO of OpenAI, the company that has gained widespread recognition with its\u00a0artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The goal of Worldcoin and the company backing it, Tools for Humanity, is to give people a form of identification that could never be stolen or duplicated. Worldcoin creates a \u201cWorld ID\u201d by scanning someone\u2019s eyeballs through \u201corbs\u201d \u2014 a device that captures an image of their irises, the colored parts of the eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One possible use for such an ID would be online services, where oftentimes people are having to remember multiple passwords and usernames for various websites they have signed up for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The security of those sites can be flawed, however, and there have been numerous security breaches where usernames and\u00a0passwords have been stolen. Instead of using old technology like passwords, a person could just sign up using their World ID.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Worldcoin is first and foremost an identification project but is using cryptocurrency to get people to sign up. The Worldcoin token is trading for roughly $1.90, but its value is largely based on speculation rather than its current usability as a currency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Worldcoin launched officially in July, and as part of the promotion, early adopters were given an amount of cryptocurrency worth between $50 and $60, depending on the jurisdiction. Most of the countries where Worldcoin launched don\u2019t widely use or accept crypto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Further, $50 is a lot of money in developing countries where people are being asked to sign up, including Kenya, where the average monthly income is roughly $170.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thousands of Kenyans lined up in Nairobi last week at a registration center where Worldcoin scanned their irises in exchange for 25 coins worth about $50. The largely youthful crowd included a special line for mothers who waited with children strapped to their backs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of those in line told local media that they had traveled for miles after friends said \u201cfree money\u201d was being handed out. They acknowledged not knowing why they needed to scan their irises and where that information would go but just wanted the money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
University graduates were among those who waited for hours, alluding to the high rate of unemployment in Kenya, where many are\u00a0angry over the rising cost of living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Kenyan government has since suspended new sign-ups for Worldcoin as it investigates whether people\u2019s information is being properly protected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki said last week that \u201cinvestigations of the safety and protection of the data being harvested and how the harvesters intend to use the data\u201d had started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Worldcoin\u2019s orbs collect biometric data by taking photographs of a person\u2019s iris. While Worldcoin argues that the data is used to create a unique, secure form of identification, privacy experts have concerns that the company may use the information in other ways, like\u00a0personalized marketing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That has led some countries to investigate Worldcoin\u2019s operations, including France, Germany and now Kenya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision says it has initiated a comprehensive investigation of Worldcoin and Tools for Humanity over\u00a0data security practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The agency is looking into whether the rights of people who submitted their personal data were observed. They should have been sufficiently informed about how their data would be used and given the ability to object, have their data deleted or to withdraw their permission, said Michael Will, head of the office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The data also should be protected from unauthorized access \u2014 to prevent identity theft, for instance, he said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
France\u2019s data privacy regulator said the legality of Worldcoin\u2019s data collection and how it stores the information \u201cseems questionable.\u201d It launched an investigation, finding the German privacy watchdog had jursidiction under\u00a0Europe\u2019s strict data privacy rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The U.K. Information Commissioner\u2019s Office says it\u2019s making inquiries about Worldcoin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Privacy experts are worried that even Worldcoin could eventually be susceptible to criminals infiltrating it, similar to data breaches at other large companies. Privacy experts have said biometric data is already being sold in places like China and that could spread to other countries or jurisdictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen biometric data gets leaked, especially in the poor countries where Worldcoin\u2019s been operating, people\u2019s lives are on the line,\u201d said Pete Howson, a professor of international development at Northumbria University in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a blog post post last week, Worldcoin acknowledged the privacy concerns around its new service but said, \u201cEverything is optional, and no personal data is disclosed by default, enabling each holder to decide which (if any) personal data to share with third parties when using World ID.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Worldcoin has previously said the company uses industry best practices to secure users\u2019 data, pointing to an\u00a0audit that two security firms\u00a0did in late July.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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