Spain Temporarily Bans Worldcoin Iris Scanning Operations Over Privacy Concerns
The measure affects the blockchain-based crypto project’s operations, requiring a pause in data handling and blocking previously collected data in Spain.
Initiated in Spain last July, Worldcoin aimed for global expansion but now faces regulatory scrutiny for its iris-scanning technology. The Spanish authority leveraged GDPR’s “urgency procedure” to implement a three-month cessation order, highlighting serious risks to individual rights due to the sensitive nature of biometric data processing.
Complaints about Worldcoin have emerged, focusing on inadequate information regarding data processing, data collection from minors, and the impossibility of withdrawing consent. The company’s ambitious project to create a unique online identifier through iris scans has raised multiple privacy and data protection issues.
Investigations by European data protection authorities, including France and Germany, target Worldcoin’s compliance with GDPR, especially concerning transparency, data subject rights, and data security. Despite controversies, Worldcoin continues to advocate for its technology’s benefits in privacy and online identity verification.
Worldcoin’s response criticizes the Spanish authority’s actions as contrary to EU law, accusing it of spreading misleading information about its technology. The company expresses willingness to cooperate with regulators to clarify its operations and technology’s value.
