Worldcoin has announced a couple of significant updates to its World ID digital identity platform, despite recent intensification in the regulatory scrutiny it has faced over its collection of users’ iris biometrics in its registration process.
For one, World ID users can now choose to unverify their accounts, which includes the permanent deletion of their iris code. This process invalidates the World ID, and there is a 6-month “cool off” period after the request during which the individual cannot re-verify. This is intended to provide users with more control over their personal data and prevent misuse of the verification system.
To prevent underage individuals from signing up, Worldcoin has also implemented age verification checks at all physical locations where IDs are verified. This process is handled by third-party personnel and is designed to ensure that no personal information is stored, maintaining privacy while ensuring that only individuals 18 and older can access the network.
The updates come after several regulatory bodies around the world have announced investigations into Worldcoin or otherwise raised flags about its activities. One of the latest is Italy’s GPDP (“Garante per la Protezione dei Dati Personali”), which issued a formal warning to the Worldcoin Foundation (which oversees the Worldcoin project) that its collection of biometric data may violate Europe’s GDPR rules, despite Worldcoin’s efforts to get consent from users.
Germany’s Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision, meanwhile, has been investigating Worldcoin for potential GDPR violations for some time. But the former German State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, Dr. Stefan Brink, has leant his vocal support to Worldcoin.
“Worldcoin has recognized that, in the age of AI, proof of humanness will be the basis for the future usability of the internet and for numerous economic aspects of the digital world,” he said in a Worldcoin blog post. “Until now, anyone wishing to prove their humanness online has used means such as government IDs, which are burdened by the disadvantage of identifying the user and of revealing a large quantity of other personal data, even though this is not necessary. In contrast, World ID allows an anonymous ‘proof of unique humanness’ and thus counters the model of ‘surveillance capitalism’ with a model that promotes data protection. World ID hereby strengthens the opportunities for data protection-compliant online activities.”
Brink was Germany’s data protection commissioner from January of 2017 until December of 2022, and now serves as Founder and Managing Director of the independent institute WIDA in Berlin.
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April 12, 2024 – by Alex Perala
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