German regulator takes tough action against Worldcoin over biometric data

The Bavarian data regulator has ordered Worldcoin to develop a GDPR-compliant data deletion protocol by the end of January

20.12.2024 - 10:40

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What’s new? The German data protection authority BayLDA has ordered the Worldcoin project, a digital identity platform founded by Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, to delete biometric data collected in violation of European Union regulations regarding the protection of personal data. According to Cointelegraph, the order follows an investigation into Worldcoin’s compliance with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

BayLDA’s decision, announced on December 19, requires Worldcoin to create a GDPR-compliant data deletion procedure within a month. It concerns iris scans collected during early testing of the project in the summer of 2023, when Worldcoin allegedly had no legitimate reason to collect that data.

What else is known? Michael Will, the president of BayLDA, noted the significance of this decision in protecting users’ privacy rights. He emphasized that users will now be able to exercise their right to have their biometric data deleted. He added:

“With today’s decision, we are enforcing European fundamental rights standards in favor of the data subjects in a technologically demanding and legally highly complex case. All users who have provided ‘Worldcoin’ with their iris data will in future have the unrestricted opportunity to enforce their right to erasure.”

In addition to deleting the data, Worldcoin will also have to revise its data processing consent procedures and remove certain data sets collected at the beginning of the project. The BayLDA investigation uncovered complaints about data protection for minors, which could lead to additional scrutiny from regulators.

The Worldcoin project recently rebranded and announced the release of new scanning devices. Using Orb devices at physical World offices around the world, users are authenticated and then assigned a digital World ID and given a number of WLD native tokens as a gift.

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