The Portuguese authority gave Worldcoin 24 hours to comply with the local stop processing order. The Worldcoin.org website no longer includes Portugal in the list of countries where eyeball scans can be booked, indicating compliance with the deadline. Germany remains the only European country where Worldcoin can operate. The Bavarian data protection authority, which leads on data protection oversight of the company, has yet to take any public intervention despite urgent interventions by authorities in Southern Europe. Worldcoin failed to get an injunction against the Spanish order, and it's unclear whether it intends to appeal Portugal’s order.
Key takeaways:
- Worldcoin, a controversial crypto biometrics venture, has been temporarily banned in Portugal due to concerns over data protection, leaving Germany as the only European country where it can currently operate.
- The Portuguese data protection authority issued the three-month ban after receiving complaints that Worldcoin had scanned children’s eyeballs and failed to provide sufficient information to users about the processing of their sensitive biometric data.
- Worldcoin's use of blockchain technology to store tokens derived from scanned biometrics means the system is designed to retain personal data permanently, which is in conflict with EU data protection law.
- Despite the ban, Worldcoin claims to be fully compliant with all laws and regulations governing the collection and transfer of biometric data, including Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation.