Portuguese Regulator Suspends Worldcoin’s Operations

The Portuguese data protection authority, known as the National Data Protection Commission (CNPD), has released a statement announcing their decision to temporarily restrict Worldcoin from collecting biometric data through their Orb devices in Portugal.

The CNPD states that this decision was made in order to safeguard the rights of its citizens, especially minors.

This measure will be effective immediately and will remain in place until the completion of an investigation, which was initially launched on March 8.

Worldcoin operates through scanning individuals’ irises using its Orb devices, and then exchanging that data for a digital ID and their own cryptocurrency.

The company’s founder, Sam Altman, is also the CEO and co-founder of OpenAI, an artificial intelligence developer. Worldcoin claims to have over 4.5 million users in 120 countries, with 300,000 individuals in Portugal having already provided their biometric data for the project.

The CNPD’s decision comes after receiving numerous reports about the collection of data from minors without proper authorization from parents or legal authorities.