Thai authorities warn over use of World’s iris biometric scanners

Local authorities in Thailand have been put on notice to monitor the use of World’s iris biometric scanning Orbs.

Thailand’s Department of Provincial Administration has issued a countrywide alert for local officials to raise public awareness and monitor sensitive biometric data collection activities to prevent fraud.

World’s local affiliate, Tools for Humanity Thailand, has partnered with 11 Thai partners, including state-owned National Telecom, to promote human verification services. Participants in World’s Orb-scanning have been offered Worldcoin cryptocurrency worth 500 to 1000 Thai baht ($15.45–$30.90) in return.

“The government would like to ask citizens to be aware that trading such biometric data for a small reward may not be worth the possible damage that could occur in the future,” said Deputy Government spokesman Anukool Pruksanusak, in the Bangkok Post.

Tools for Humanity (TFH) has said its service is not in violation of the country’s Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA). It has, however, fallen afoul of regulators in other places, such as in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Kenya and Germany. Mainland China has also warned against the dangers of sharing biometric information with foreign companies.

World introduced its iris-scanning Orbs to Thailand in March, with plans to have two million users and 1,000 Orb locations across the country by the end of the year. “In the long run of around five years, we may consider collecting a small transaction fee for the service,” said TFH Thailand Country Manager Pakapol Thangtongchin at the time.

Anukool has warned that biometric data is especially sensitive as unlike passwords it cannot be changed if compromised, such as in data breaches, and can be exploited for identity theft and impersonations in financial fraud.

The country’s Department of Provincial Administration has underlined that state agencies, including its Bureau of Registration, are not involved in collecting biometric data. This appears targeted at potential bad actors and scammers who may be defrauding citizens into having their biometrics collected. The department said the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) is analyzing potential risks.

Local officials have been told to stop such actions in their communities. Those who suspect fraud can report cases to provincial or district offices of the Interior Ministry’s Damrongtham Centre.

As of mid-June, more than 100,000 people have had their irises scanned via TFH’s Orbs at 58 locations, according to TFH Thailand.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  cryptocurrency  |  data protection  |  iris biometrics  |  Thailand  |  Tools for Humanity  |  World  |  World ID  |  World ID Orb