After a 2022 crossed by the outbreak of the pyramid scams from the emblematic case that represented Zoe Generationall suspicions now point to WorldCoin. The application that arrived in the country with the promise of crypto dollars in exchange for scanning the iris through circular devices was reported to the Government in the last few hours for possible violation of personal data.
The complaint bears the signature of the lawyer Daniel Monastersky, member of Data Governance Latam and director of the Center for Studies in Cybersecurity and Data Protection, and was presented before the Agency for Access to Public Information. The presentation argues that there could be a possible violation of WorldCoin to the National Law of Protection of Personal Data and lack of compliance with privacy and security standards in the collection of biometric data.
As said presentation is not public, the complainant indicated on the ciberseguridadlatam.com site that the complaint points out the “significant risks involved in the request for biometric data by the application. Likewise, it warns that “the unrestricted access of a company to this information could result in the violation of user privacythe inappropriate use of data and the possibility of leaks or unauthorized access to the database.
What is the worldcoin: “lend” the retina in exchange for dollars, the trend that came to Argentina
Although in recent days images of a line of people waiting for their iris scan in a supermarket in the province of Buenos Aires have gone viral, the truth is that Worldcoin has been operating in Argentina for months. At least that’s how one graphed it. use published in February in Newswhere the presence of the Orb devices was noticed since the second half of 2022.
In this context, the complainant stated in the presentation that the capture of the iris made by the aforementioned application as a condition for using it has aroused “ethical and privacy concerns”.
Sensitive data and appropriate treatment
“This special category of data, especially that of the iris, is extremely sensitive and its treatment must be carried out with the utmost rigor and protection. The treatment of this type of personal data entails serious risks for the privacy of users, since an access not authorized to this information could lead to privacy violations and misuse of personal data”pointed out an article referring to the complaint.
Worldcoin promises cryptos in exchange for scanning iris.
An important fact is that Worldcoin is in the crosshairs of authorities from other countries that took action on the warnings and decided to apply restrictions. One of the examples cited by the complainant is that of the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (OPDC) of Kenyawhat suspended collection activities of data until further notice.
Security, storage of sensitive information, facial recognition and insufficient information on security standards are some of the points of conflict that the authorities of that country took into account to prohibit the activities of the application designed by Sam Altmanthe owner of OpenAIthe platform that also has ChatGPT, one of the artificial intelligences of the moment.
Worldcoin: the cryptocurrency that pays you for “being human”
For the complainant, all users of the application must be sure that their data is handled safely and clearly, while also they should be in control of your personal information. With Worldcoin, a priori, that does not happen.
What the App says about the data collected
The application in question has managed to expand to 34 countries with nearly 2.2 million “global identification records”according to the information available on the Worldcoin site.
On that same page, the company offers a section for privacy, where it is explained that the purpose of iris scanning with the Orb is to verify that a person is real and that they have not previously registered. “It does this by capturing and processing images of you and your unique iris pattern. Since no two people have the same iris pattern and these patterns are very difficult to fake, the Orb can accurately differentiate it from others without having to collect any other information about you, not even your name,” the firm explains.
Worldcoin claims to delete the information.
Those images captured by the circular and silver devices “are permanently deleted as soon as it’s registered.” This is “unless you opt into data escrow to reduce the number of times you may need to return to an Orb.” Anyway, “images are not connected to your Worldcoin tokens, transactions, or WorldID.”
The page insists that the biometric data deposited by users “they never leave the orb”and that once the registration process was completed, “it will be permanently deleted.”
A virtual wallet pays in dollars
“The only data left is your iris code. This iris code is a set of numbers generated by the Orb and is not tied to your wallet or personal information. As a result, it doesn’t really tell us, or anyone else, nothing about you All it does is prevent you from being able to re-register“, insists the site.
In return, the APP maintains that “since you are not required to provide personal information such as your name, email address, physical address or phone number, this means that you can easily register without us knowing anything about you.” That hook, added to the invitation “come closer, we will give you your first cryptocurrency”is an offer that tempts hundreds of people to leave their data in the spheres.
AS/fl