Thailand shuts down World iris scanning operation, orders deletion of biometrics

Thai news outlets are reporting on an order from the National Health Security Office (NHSO),  which suspends the collection of iris biometrics by TIDC Worldverse and demands the deletion of biometric data already collected from 1.2 million Thai citizens.

TIDC represents Tools for Humanity Thailand according to the Bangkok Post. Tools for Humanity is the parent company of World, the digital identity and proof of personhood scheme with a shiny Orb as its iris capture device and the head of OpenAI as its leader.

TfH Thailand said it has paused the iris biometric verification services in line with the Personal Data Protection Committee (PDPC) orders but a court challenge of the decision is planned.

The expert committee of the PDPC determined that the company in question did not attain sufficient consent to collect biometric data under Thailand’s legal requirements.

A Worldcoin exchange in Thailand was also raided in October, resulting in the arrest of several suspects.

Isranews Agency quotes Pol. Col. Surapong Plengkham, secretary-general of the PDPC, who says the joint investigation revealed, in addition to violations of the Personal Data Protection Act, “other suspicious issues, such as the case of a scheme to hire people to scan their irises in exchange for coins to be used by other individuals.”

The suspension and deletion order is the latest blow to World’s global ambitions, which have largely targeted poorer economies in the global south, where a “drop” of WLD offered in exchange for biometric enrolment is an attractive prize. A recent report from Business Insider says the firm has only registered 17.5 million people so far – well below its target of verifying 1 billion users. Legal violations are likely contributing to the sluggish growth; World met with a frosty reception from German regulators over perceived GDPR violations, and has seen more or less regulatory pushback wherever it has set up operations. (Except maybe Malaysia.)

BI quotes Nikhil Bhatia, a finance professor at the University of Southern California who studies cryptocurrency, and who says “it’s really just hard to judge something that’s a crypto with a 2 billion dollar market cap as anything other than experimental or a fad. World is not a contender in any way for currency or an asset relative to the dollar or Bitcoin.”

Article Topics

biometric data  |  biometrics  |  digital ID  |  iris biometrics  |  Thailand  |  Tools for Humanity  |  World