World (antes Worldcoin) continúa su agresiva expansion en Latinoamérica, pese a la reticencia, a través de sus registros World ID, los cuales se han incrementado en Colombia, Brasil, República Dominicana, Argentina, entre otros. La empresa de Sam Altman reportó su expansión a México.World anunció que ya tiene 20 millones de usuarios a nivel mundial, quienes han descargado su app World App. La empresa reveló una nueva estrategia meses atrás, y considera reconquistar países donde operaba, como España, donde planea volver a España en 2025, ofreciendo garantías reforzadas sobre la protección de los datos personales.World mantiene su expansión en LatinoaméricaAdemás, World reveló que ya cuenta con más de 10 millones de usuarios verificados a través de su plataforma World ID, y que 450 mil usuarios se encuentran en México “este año”. La empresa lo calificó como un éxito, gracias al lanzamiento de su verificación de prueba de humanidad lanzada en México, Brasil, Colombia, Malasia y Polonia. “Además de esto, el proyecto piloto de la credencial de pasaporte World ID, con acceso a tokens WLD adicionales*, hizo que la red fuera aún más accesible para cientos de millones de personas adicionales. A mediados de diciembre, había casi 5 millones de aperturas diarias de Mini Apps con más de 8 millones de impresiones diarias

Create an account to save your articles.Create an account to save your articles.Decrypt’s Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub. Discover SCENEWorldcoin, the crypto-based digital identity project co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, is under scrutiny again as German regulators demand compliance with European Union (EU) data protection laws.The Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision’s (BayLDA) investigation focused on how Worldcoin’s flagship technology, the World ID, is compliant with GDPR standards, as per a Thursday announcement.BayLDA has ordered Worldcoin, now rebranded as World, to implement a GDPR-compliant data deletion protocol by no later than January 19.The GDPR is a comprehensive EU law designed to protect individuals’ personal data and privacy, enforcing strict rules on how data is collected, processed, and stored.“With today's decision, we are enforcing European fundamental rights standards in favor of the data subjects in a technologically demanding and legally highly complex case,” said Michael Will, President of the State Office at BayDLA. “All users who have provided “Worldcoin” with their iris data will in future have the unrestricted opportunity to enforce their right to erasure.”The World ID is generated through “Orbs,” devices that scan a person’s eyeball to create a unique digital identifier designed to verify that individuals are real people rather than bots.However, BayLDA raised concerns over the "fundamental data protection risks" posed by processing such sensitive biometric data and its compliance with data protection rights.Worldcoin voluntarily suspended some of its operations across EU countries during the inquiry and introduced updates to improve compliance.The regulator flagged earlier phases of World’s data collection practices, which involved storing iris codes in centralized databases.These activities were deemed non-compliant with GDPR, leading to an order to delete all data collected without sufficient legal basis. World is now required to secure explicit consent for certain data processing steps.Despite implementing cryptographic protocols that anonymize data by splitting iris codes into encrypted fragments, the BayLDA determined that further adjustments were necessary.Worldcoin has already received the German regulator’s decision and plans to appeal it, according to the agency’s statement.World Faces Global Privacy ConcernsWorldcoin, launched in 2023, introduced a concept called “proof of personhood,” seeking to establish a vast network of users verified as humans rather than bots or AI algorithms.However, its vision quickly drew the attention of regulators worldwide.Countries such as Kenya and Portugal temporarily banned the project over privacy concerns.By October, Worldcoin transitioned to its new identity as ‘World’ and unveiled an updated version of its iris-scanning “Orb” device.These devices, with 30% fewer parts and triple the production capacity of its predecessor, were first deployed in Berlin, Germany, in July 2023.While the initiative gained attention for its innovation, it was equally criticized by privacy advocates who labeled the project as intrusive and potentially exploitative.Shortly after the project’s launch, France and Germany initiated investigations into its biometric data collection practices. France’s privacy watchdog, CNIL, questioned the legality of the data collection and storage processes, calling them “questionable.”World did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment.Edited by Sebastian Sinclair

The Bavarian State Office for Data Protection (BayLDA), a German privacy watchdog, ordered Worldcoin to delete users’ biometric data. The company has appealed the decision.This legal challenge targets the heart of the company’s operations in the European Union and may seriously hamper its developments in the region. BayLDA Takes On WorldcoinWorld (formerly Worldcoin) is a digital identity project gathering iris scans and other biometric data from millions of users. Today, the BayLDA published a press release summarizing its findings of an ongoing investigation into World, and it’s deeply unsatisfied with the firm’s compliance:. “The company will be obliged to provide a deletion procedure that complies with the provisions of the GDPR within one month of the decision taking effect. Worldcoin will be obliged to provide explicit consent… in the future