NEW YORK — Worldcoin is attracting the attention of privacy regulators worldwide weeks after its global launch, with the Kenyan government even going to shut down the site permanently.
The Silicon Valley-backed international ID business is currently defending itself in inquiries into whether the biometric data it is gathering is secure.
What you should know about Worldcoin and the issues it is causing is as follows:
WHY CHOOSE WORLD COIN?
Sam Altman, the CEO of the business famed for its artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT and for which he is best known, is the creator of Worldcoin.
Giving people a form of identification that can never be stolen or copied is the aim of Worldcoin and the business that supports it, Tools for Humanity. A person’s eyeballs are scanned by “orbs,” a gadget that takes a photo of their iris, the colored area of the eye, to establish a “World ID” for Worldcoin.
Online services, where users frequently need to remember numerous passwords and usernames for various websites they have registered for, are one potential application for such an ID.
However, such websites’ security can have issues, and there have been many security lapses where usernames and passwords have been taken. Users might sign up using their World ID rather than antiquated technology like passwords.
WHAT RELATION DOES IT HAVE TO CRYPTO?
Although Worldcoin is primarily an identity initiative, it uses cryptocurrencies to entice users to sign up. The price of a Worldcoin token is currently around $1.90. However, speculation has more of an impact on the token’s worth than that it can currently be used as money.
Early adopters of Worldcoin were given a quantity of cryptocurrency valued between $50 and $60 as part of the promotion when it first launched in July. Most nations where Worldcoin first debuted don’t use or accept cryptocurrency widely.
Furthermore, in developing nations where people are being urged to join, like Kenya, where the average monthly salary is around $170, $50 is a significant sum.
WHY IS WORLDCOIN ATTRACTION RISING?
At a registration center in Nairobi last week, tens of thousands of Kenyans lined up to have their irises scanned by Worldcoin in exchange for 25 coins worth approximately $50. A separate queue for women who waited with their toddlers strapped to their backs was part of the predominantly youthful audience.
Some people waiting in queue informed the local media that they had come a long way because friends had told them “free money” was being distributed. They admitted they had no idea why their irises needed to be scanned or what would be done with the data, but they just cared about getting paid.
University graduates were among those who waited for hours, referring to Kenya’s high unemployment rate and the nation’s widespread resentment of the country’s rising cost of living.
Since then, the Kenyan government has halted new Worldcoin registrations while examining whether users’ data is protected appropriately.
According to last week’s statement from Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki, “investigations of the safety and protection of the data being harvested and how the harvesters intend to use the data” have begun.
WHAT PRIVACY CONCERNS ARE THERE?
By snapping pictures of a person’s iris, Worldcoin’s orbs gather biometric information. Privacy experts worry that Worldcoin may use the data for other purposes, such as personalized marketing, despite its claim that it generates a distinctive, secure form of identification.
This has prompted various nations, like France, Germany, and most recently Kenya, to look into the workings of Worldcoin.
According to the Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision, Worldcoin and Tools for Humanity’s data security procedures are the subject of a thorough examination.
The organization is investigating whether the rights of those who provided their personal information were upheld. According to Michael Will, the office’s head, they ought to have had adequate information about how their data would be used and had the option to object, have their data erased, or revoke their consent.
He stated that the information also has to be secured against unauthorized access to, among other things, stop identity theft.
The legality of Worldcoin’s data gathering and storage practices, according to France’s data privacy authorities, “seems questionable.” It investigated and discovered that Europe’s strong data privacy laws gave the German privacy watchdog jurisdiction.
According to the U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office, it is looking into Worldcoin.
Privacy experts are concerned that someday, like with data breaches at other major corporations, Worldcoin may be vulnerable to criminals accessing it. According to privacy experts, biometric data is already being sold in places like China, and this may expand to other nations or jurisdictions.
People’s lives are at risk when biometric data is compromised, particularly in the developing nations where Worldcoin has been active, according to Pete Howson, an international development professor at Northumbria University in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
The privacy issues around its new service were addressed by Worldcoin last week in a blog post, but the company also stated that “everything is optional, and no personal data is disclosed by default, enabling each holder to decide which (if any) personal data to share with third parties when using World ID.”
In the past, Worldcoin has claimed that it follows industry best practices to protect user data, citing an assessment conducted by two security organizations in late July.
SOURCE – (AP)
