Tools for Humanity, a Worldcoin contributor, has volunteered to shut down Worldcoin orb operations in Spain.
Co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Tools for Humanity aims to create a mechanism where individuals can prove their humanity. Those who sign up to the project receive a World ID by receiving WLD tokens in exchange for having their pupils scanned by a Worldcoin orb, thus proving their "humanity".
Companies like Tools for Humanity see the importance of creating digital identities. These identities will enable people to be uniquely recognizable from AI-driven online agents; future versions of the internet will be largely populated by AI actors or bots.
Concerns over the protection of personal data have led many government bodies to closely scrutinize the Worldcoin initiative.
In March, the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) ordered Worldcoin to cease its operations in Spain. In a statement on Tuesday, the agency outlined its position on Worldcoin's ongoing suspension.
"It has made a legally binding commitment not to resume its activities in Spain until the end of the year or, if applicable, until BayLDA has taken a final decision regarding data processing," the AEPD said.
"The main authority for data processing designated by the GDPR is BayLDA, the Bavarian data protection authority in Germany," the AEPD added.
GDPR compliance and next steps
Tools for Humanity stated that it has been working with BayLDA for over a year. Furthermore, Tools for Humanity has recently taken steps to reaffirm to data privacy advocates that Worldcoin considers the protection of biometric data a top priority.
Worldcoin has launched the "Personal Custody" initiative, which enables biometric data to be encrypted and stored. The project stated that anyone who is registered can request to delete their numerical "iris code", which is generated by scanning their eyeballs. In addition, Worldcoin has set policies prohibiting people under the age of eighteen from registering.
Thomas Scott, General Counsel of Tools for Humanity, said in a statement:
"While it is encouraging that in a recent survey of World ID users in Spain, more than 80% of the 21,000 respondents said they believe it is important for technologies like World ID to distinguish between bots and humans online, and almost 90% support the project's return to Spain, we have voluntarily extended the suspension of orb operations in the country."
