Brazil blocks Worldcoin’s pay-for-data model over ethical concerns

Brazilian regulators have discovered that World Network, formerly Worldcoin, may have influenced user consent by offering financial incentives to collect biometric data.

According to the national data protection authority of Brazil, the national data protection authority, this practice could compromise The validity of consent, as well as the financial compensation offered, like his token of native ecosystem Worldcoin (WLD) —The unbeatually influence individuals, in particular those who are in vulnerable circumstances.

For the context, World Network aims to create a universal digital identity and a financial system by checking individuals as unique human beings thanks to iris analyzes carried out with its exclusive “Orb” technology.

The project, co-founded in 2019 by Sam Altman, CEO of Openai and developed by Tools for Humanity, has widened in order to offer greater digital security and facilitate equitable access to resources in the era Artificial intelligence.

However, the ANPD considers that the approach of the project aimed at obtaining consent by means of financial incentives is problematic and has prohibited Tools for Humanity from providing such compensation for the collection of biometric data, in accordance with Brazilian laws on data protection.

These laws require consent to be free, informed, unequivocal and explicitly given for specific purposes, in particular when it comes to sensitive personal data such as biometrics.

The restrictions entered into force on January 25, following an investigation opened in November 2024, shortly after the launch of the project in Brazil. The regulators have also expressed their concerns about how World Network processes user data, in particular the irreversible nature of the collection of biometric data.

Even if the company co -founded by Sam Altman has stressed His commitment to confidentiality and data security thanks to measures such as minimization of data, data control by users, the deletion of the IRIS code and the secure multi -party calculation, which does not has not protected regulatory pressures around the world.

In particular, regulators of Hong Kong has raised similar concerns Last year, denouncing it for breaking the local laws on the protection of privacy. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data has qualified WorldCoin data collection practices “useless and excessive”, stressing that they lacked transparency.

The regulators criticized the project for not having provided confidentiality notices and consent forms in Chinese and for having misunderstanding the participants about their rights of access and rectification of their data. Consequently, World Network was invited to stop all of its operations in Hong Kong by the end of May 2024.

The project was faced with similar restrictions in other regions, in particular Germany,, SpainAnd Kenya. However, it continued to widen With the launch of the main World Chain network as well as upgrades for its World App and Orb devices.