World enters UK market with deployment of biometric Orbs in London

The lofty aspirations of digital identity and proof-of-personhood (PoP) firm World must build on  the more pedestrian accomplishment of convincing regulators that its project complies with the laws of each nation it rolls out in. Having recently launched in the U.S., World has now entered the UK market, continuing its push for global dominance in digital ID. 

An announcement from the company says World verification through biometric scanning Orbs will be available in the UK starting Thursday, June 12 at “several locations in London.” It also says that over the coming months, “rollout will include further London locations and major cities including Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, Belfast, and Glasgow.”

The post is standard fare from the company: it cites research showing that 75 percent of UK adults agree “it’s now more important than ever to prove who’s real online.” It says trust in the digital world is “rapidly eroding.” It raises the specter of fraudsters using fake identities to run online dating scams or open bank accounts, which is fueling “a growing appetite for verifying there is a real human behind an account.” 

The UK is currently in the midst of a concerted digital ID push, even as the government declares deepfakes “arguably the greatest challenge of the online age.”

And it promises that this can all be fixed if you visit a World retail location to step up to the Orb for a scan of your iris biometrics, which are then encrypted in a decentralized network to serve as anonymous, zero knowledge proof that you are a person. “No personal information or biometric data is stored by World, and verification data remains exclusively on the World ID holder’s mobile phone.”  

The post finishes with a trademark utopian flourish: “This network enables a future where online interactions can be trusted, public resources can be fairly allocated, and AI systems can reliably distinguish between humans and other AI – all while preserving individual privacy and personal control.” 

World has raised approximately $375 million to fuel its global expansion, including from rounds of sales of its cryptocurrency tokens in 2022 and this past May.

Coverage of the UK launch in the Financial Times also notes that “the group does not yet have any revenue, but is exploring options including introducing fees for partners, such as Tinder parent Match Group, which use World services.” The company is also in talks with Visa to bring Visa card functionality to the World Wallet.

Meanwhile, CNBC quotes Adrian Ludwig, “chief architect of Tools for Humanity,” who says World has been “has been talking to various regulators about its identity verification solution,”  including the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). 

“We’ve been having lots of conversations with regulators,” Ludwig says. “In general, there’s been lots of questions: how do we make sure this works? How do we protect privacy?” 

“It’s been a while since we’ve had a question asked we didn’t have an answer to.”

Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  iris biometrics  |  proof of personhood  |  Tools for Humanity  |  UK  |  World