Worldcoin suspends Spanish operations amid data protection probe

The Spanish data watchdog announced that Worldcoin has legally agreed to not resume its activity in Spain until the end of the year. 

On June 4, the Spanish Agency for Data Protection (AEPD) said that Tools for Humanity Corporation, the company behind the human identity and financial network Worldcoin, will not resume collecting and processing data until the end of 2024 or until final resolutions of an ongoing investigation.

Currently, the data protection authority of Bavaria, Germany, Bayerisches Landesamt für Datenschutzaufsicht (BayLDA), is investigating the organization regarding its treatment of personal user data.

EU investigations continue

According to the announcement, the BayLDA is actively moving the investigations forward and is expected to have a conclusion “soon” with a final decision that is aligned with all concerned European supervisory authorities.

This includes the Spanish authorities who ordered Worldcoin to stop collecting and processing personal data that it was carrying out in Spain within the framework of its Worldcoin project in March 2024.

During this investigation period, Worldcoin has stepped up its security measures by open-sourcing its biometric data system and confirmed that users can now securely delete old iris codes.

It also introduced more comprehensive controls to verify the age of users and the possibility of removing the iris code.

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Spain and Germany are only two of the many countries that have raised eyebrows at the Worldcoin scheme. 

On May 22, the project was ordered to halt operations in Hong Kong after a ruling that its retention of sensitive biometric data for up to 10 years for training artificial intelligence (AI) models, which included face and iris images, was not justifiable.

Worldcoin gains momentum

Despite regulators' concern about Worldcoin’s practices, the project has been gaining momentum in terms of its user base.

In April 2024, it reached a landmark of 10 million users and 70 million transactions. It also made headlines after a man in Africa used its cryptocurrency to purchase around 13 goats.

Also in April, the project announced the launch of its own “ human-centric” blockchain network World Chain, which was designed to prioritize human users, enhance efficiency and foster real-world utility in Web3 applications.

Worldcoin also said that it will increase the supply of its token WLD by up to 19% in the next six months.

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