Portugal’s National Data Protection Commission (CNPD) ordered the WorldCoin Foundation to suspend its operations in the country and stop scanning the irises of users within 24 hours.
one in releaseThe CNPD reported the decision to “suspend the collection of iris, eye and facial biometric data carried out by WorldCoin”. This is intended to “protect the fundamental right to protection of personal data”.
As per the ordinance, the project Time till March 27 to shut down operations, The statement said the suspension period would be 90 days, “until the CNPD completes its investigation and issues a final decision.”
CNPD Claims to have received “dozens of reports” in the past monthCondemning that WorldCoin is collecting biometric data from minors without the permission of their parents or representatives.
In addition, “deficiencies in the information provided to interested parties regarding the impossibility of deleting data or revoking consent.”
The office became alert after knowing this More than 300,000 Portuguese have already had their irises scanned To get a handful of WLD tokens. Additionally, the number of locations where Orbs (which scan biometric data) are available has “almost doubled in six months.”
“The large influx of people, including minors, to join the WorldCoin project and receive tokens led to the need to pre-book the registration process and biometric data collection. “There is no mechanism to verify the age of members.”
National Data Protection Commission of Portugal (CNPD).
Recalling that biometric data enjoys greater protection in Portugal, Europe and most countries in the world, the CNPD says that the transfer of this information to WorldCoin “poses a high risk to the fundamental rights of citizens”.
The government office alleges that this justifies “immediate intervention to avoid serious or irreparable damage”.
Ordinance against WorldCoin, in the words of CNPD President Paula Meira Lourenço This is an “unavoidable and reasonable” measure So as to “protect the public interest, particularly in the protection of the fundamental rights of minors.”
Spain and Portugal united in concern about WorldCoin
The concern of the Portuguese office is something that has already happened in other countries. In Spain, right next door, the same thing happened. Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) Four complaints received related to processing of data of minors And other matters.
“AEPD has received multiple complaints against this company, citing, among other aspects, insufficient information, collection of data from minors or not allowing withdrawal of consent,” the agency told CryptoNoticias in a statement.
For this reason, that unit Ordered to suspend WorldCoin operations in Spain And issued restrictive orders. Although the company appealed, a Spanish court confirmed AEPD’s concerns and ruled against WorldCoin.
This measure, in both Spain and now Portugal, prevents Worldcoin from continuing to scan the eyeballs, however, from that company They allege that the pupils of minors cannot be scanned. By a project representative.
Jannik Prevish, who is part of the data protection division at the Worldcoin Foundation, said this is “the first time” he has heard reports of underage registration.
According to Prevish, They have “zero tolerance” for minors entering WorldCoin. He said they are “working to address all cases, even if there are only a few reports.” report Reuters.
The executive agreed with Tiago Saada, head of engineering and design at Tools for Humanity, a company that provides services to the WorldCoin Foundation. He said in an interview with CryptoNoticias earlier in the month that controls were in place to prevent minors from joining that ecosystem.
“The reality is that minors are not allowed in the WorldCoin project. place. And we ensure this in various ways,” Saada said at the time.
At the mercy of data users
On the other hand, Portugal’s ordinance banning WorldCoin from scanning residents’ irises was revealed just days after the project was launched. Will launch personal custody mechanism, Which basically lets users control their own biometric data after scanning it into the orbs.
As a result of a private audit, which revealed potential privacy risks in WorldCoin based on the judgment of the project’s main developers, the company removed the data escrow, which stored and encrypted the collected information.
According to WorldCoin, personal escrow ensures that all users “can learn about WorldCoin before deciding whether they want to share their information to help improve the project.”
