Brazilian Data Protection Agency Reveals Investigation Into Iris Scanning World Project

A note issued by the National Data Protection Authority, Brazil’s data protection institution, has announced that it is actively monitoring the activities of World, the project previously known as Worldcoin, in the country. Given the risks associated with processing biometric data, the authority has requested information on the tasks performed by the company.

World Faces Increased Supervision From Brazilian Data Protection Institutions

World, the project formerly known as Worldcoin, is facing increased scrutiny in its data collection activities from Brazilian authorities. The National Data Protection Authority (ANPD), Brazil’s data watchdog agency, issued a note reminding World’s operations are being monitored by the agency, and that there is an ongoing probe into the company’s inner workings and the destiny of the private biometric data collected.

Given the sensitivity of the data collected by the project, the ANDP has been treating World differently than other entities, limiting the protections that companies of this kind might enjoy. According to local media, the institution declared:

Due to the higher risks that the processing of this type of personal data can pose, the legislator has granted them a more rigorous protection regime, limiting the legal hypotheses that authorize their processing.

In World’s specific case, this data would be the resulting code of the iris of its users after being scanned by specialized hardware cameras called “orbs.” World offers a reward in his currency for this scan, which is deposited to the user’s wallet associated with the account.

Specifically, the ANPD required detailed information on several elements of its activities, including the context in which the processing activities occur, the material aspects of processing operations, the legal hypothesis that underpins the data processing, and the transparency of the processing of personal data.

Furthermore, it also probed World on the exercise of rights by holders of personal data, the assessment of possible consequences of the processing of personal data concerning the rights to privacy and data protection of the data subjects, the processing of personal data of children and adolescents, and existing information security and personal data protection measures.

The ANPD disclosed that these documents had already been forwarded and are currently analyzing this information.

World opened operations in Brazil in November and claims that over 150,000 have already scanned their irises to be part of the project.

Read more: World Lands in Brazil: Launching Biometric Operations in São Paulo