Regulator presses TFH for details on World biometric data collection in Indonesia

Indonesia government officials are exploring the potential misuse of biometric data and may require the deletion of 500,000 iris data records collected by World.

Following the suspension of World and World ID’s operational permit, to “mitigate risks to the public,” Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Digital (Kemkomdigi) summoned Tools for Humanity (TFH), which oversees Worldcoin and World ID, for extensive talks.

Kemkomdigi wanted to determine the relationship between World ID and the country’s national digital ID; to discuss the security of user biometric data, compliance with regulations as an Electronic System Operator (PSE), the limit of responsibilities between entities in the TFH ecosystem, and the protection of children’s personal data, among other subjects.

“The main points discussed in the meeting included an explanation of TFH’s business flow and product ecosystem, an assessment of TFH’s compliance with personal data protection regulations in Indonesia, including the practice of providing financial incentives in the collection of personal data,” said Alexander Sabar, director general of Digital Space Supervision at Kemkomdigi.

Sabar said an official decision on the results of the evaluation would be announced in the “near future.” The director general explained that the ministry is exploring the technicalities of what TFH actually does, since the U.S. start-up has been collecting data in Indonesia since 2021, but that the TFH business license was only registered in 2025.

Since TFH’s suspension, it has stopped all iris biometric scanning, which was carried out by six local operators. In the meeting TFH said it had collected more than 500,000 retinal data from users in Indonesia since 2021. Kemkomdigi is investigating what the data is used for. If the ministry finds that storing this iris biometric data presents risks, and with evidence of such risks, the data could be permanently deleted.

In a statement provided to media Tools of Humanity said the protection of users’ personal data is its “top priority” and that World ID is designed to verify the uniqueness of individuals in the AI era, and that it does this without storing personal or biometric information. TFH claims the iris biometrics is converted into a numerical code (so called “iris code”) which is cryptographically processed and converted into numbers so that they cannot be linked back to any individual. This anonymous number is then stored in a separate database run by “trusted third parties,” according to the statement.

World was co-founded by Sam Altman, better known as the CEO of OpenAI, along with Alex Blania, who runs Tools for Humanity, and is on a global mission to collect iris biometrics to support the company’s Proof of Personhood protocol. It has faced scrutiny in Indonesia for offering 800,000 rupiah ($48.42) to users who scan their retinas on the company’s iris scanners.

The case is magnifying attention on Indonesia’s developing data protection laws as it faces large-scale biometric data collection for the first time. The Southeast Asian country is the largest in the region, with a total population of over 281 million, but it does not have a dedicated data protection authority.

Ethical concerns arise due to the financial incentives being offered by TFH, attracting lower-income people who may not have the digital literacy or knowledge that the biometric data being collected is permanent and understand what its potential future uses could be. In addition, there are significant privacy and security risks if permanent biometric identifiers such as retinal patterns are compromised.

Worldcoin and World ID were suspended following discrepancies found in its registration as a PSE. World has also faced problems in Kenya, among other places, with regulators there giving the company seven days to delete all biometric data collected from Kenyans.

Article Topics

biometric data  |  biometric identifiers  |  biometrics  |  data collection  |  digital ID  |  Indonesia  |  iris biometrics  |  Komdigi  |  Tools for Humanity  |  World  |  World ID