French privacy watchdog skeptical about Worldcoin biometric data collection
Worldcoin, a new-age crypto project
CNIL, France's privacy watchdog said on Friday (July 28) that the legality of biometric data collection of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's Worldcoin Project "seems questionable".
Worldcoin, launched on Monday, requires users to provide iris scans for a digital ID and even free cryptocurrency in some countries. Worldcoin's website says it has signed up 2.1 million people over trial in last two years.
Worldcoin has set-up sites in various locations across the world. At these locations people can get their faces scanned by a shiny spherical "orb".
Data regulator in Britain said this week that it will obtain more information about Worldcoin following its launch.
CNIL, the French watchdog, told Reuters that "The legality of this collection seems questionable, as do the conditions for storing biometric data."
CNIL said in a e-mail that investigations had been initiated which revealed that the Bavarian state authority in Germany has jurisdiction, reported Reuters. The watchdog added that the Bavarian authority has since been conducting the investigation.
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Worldcoin was "designed to protect individual privacy and has built a robust privacy programme" and is committed to ensuring it meets regulatory requirements, the Worldcoin Foundation said via email, as reported by Reuters.
The Worldcoin Foundation is a Cayman Islands-based entity which describes itself as a "steward of the Worldcoin protocol".
"The Worldcoin Foundation complies with all laws and regulations governing the processing of personal data in the markets where Worldcoin is available," it said.
The Worldcoin Foundation has said that the project is supervised in the EU by the Bavarian State office for Data Protection Supervision
"The project will continue to cooperate with governing bodies on requests for more information about its privacy and data protection practices," it added.
(With inputs from agencies)
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