Worldcoin calls truce with AEPD ahead of GDPR compliance decision expected in July

Worldcoin has committed to keeping its biometric enrollment activities in Spain on hold “in a legally binding manner,” pending the outcome of a separate regulatory review, says the Spanish Data Protection Agency, AEPD.

Tools for Humanity, Worldcoin’s main developer, agreed voluntarily to go along with the pause, according to a company blog post. The suspension will last until the end of the year, or until the reviews are complete, the company says. The move follows an attempt by Worldcoin to fight the suspension with a lawsuit, which the National High Court rejected immediately after it was filed. The AEPD cited four complaints, which included the collection of children’s biometrics, insufficient information provided to data subjects and failing to provide a mechanism for withdrawing consent.

The Bavarian data protection authority (BayLDA) is evaluating Worldcoin’s compliance with the privacy protections contained in Europe’s GDPR. BayLDA’s audit takes the lead in determining GDPR compliance due to the location of Tools for Humanity’s European headquarters in Germany. That decision is expected by mid-July, a spokesperson for the regulator told TechCrunch.

Then again, a decision was expected “in the next few weeks” when Worldcoin filed its suit against the AEPD in March. In the meantime, Worldcoin operations continue in Germany.

TechCrunch notes that the rights GDPR grants data subjects to delete their data and the incentive offered to process people’s iris biometrics may be sticking points with BayLDA.

In the meantime, has been adding privacy protections and beefing up its age restrictions with in-person checks.

Give the people what they want

Worldcoin carried out its own survey of 21,000 people in Spain, and found that 80 percent say technologies like World ID are needed to tell bots from people online, and 90 percent support a resumption of the organization’s operations in the country.

The company also hit back against the AEPD in its blog post, reiterating an earlier statement from Worldcoin Foundation Data Protection Officer Jannick Preiwisch that AEPD “is circumventing established procedures under GDPR” and “spreading inaccurate and misleading claims about our technology”

“Our commitment demonstrates just how fully committed Tools for Humanity and all Worldcoin project contributors are to explaining the project to AEPD and to allowing BayLDA the opportunity to thoroughly review the project and its technology,” says Thomas Scott, chief legal officer at Tools for Humanity.

Article Topics

AEPD  |  biometric enrollment  |  biometrics  |  data protection  |  GDPR  |  Spain  |  Tools for Humanity  |  World