Worldcoin, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's retina-scanning and cryptocurrency giveaway project, is banned in Spain over privacy concerns.

The Spanish Data Protection Authority (AEPD) has ordered Worldcoin to stop collecting personal data in the country for at least three months. The AEPD said it was a “precautionary measure aimed at immediately ending the collection and transfer of data to third parties, ensuring the fundamental right to the protection of personal data.”

A day later, Worldcoin denied the AEPD's arguments, claiming that the regulator was "spreading inaccurate and misleading information" about the project's technology.

"Unfortunately, AEPD is circumventing the established process under the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) with actions that are limited to Spain and not the EU," Jannick Preiwisch, head of data management at the Worldcoin Foundation, told Business Insider.

A Worldcoin spokesperson said they have filed a lawsuit against AEPD.

Launched mid-last year, the Sam Altman-backed Worldcoin project focuses on a digital passport called the World ID, which proves an individual is a real person and not a bot. To get a World ID, users need to scan their retinas using a bowling ball-sized sphere called the Orb.

The AI ​​then analyzes the data and verifies that they are real. The data is uploaded to the blockchain for the owner to store and use for future service authentication. After scanning, the user is awarded 25 WLD. WLD is the project’s cryptocurrency, currently worth more than $7 per coin.

Altman and co-founder Alex Blania said last year that Worldcoin is a project that provides a vital means for users to provide “proof of their humanity online” — a crucial element of authentication in a world where AI-generated content is increasingly prevalent. But the project has raised concerns among experts. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has outlined four major problems facing the system: privacy, accessibility, centralization, and security. Privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch has also warned that the data collected is at risk of being hacked or exploited for personal gain.

Worldcoin is also in the crosshairs of the UK data regulator. Last August, Kenya became the first country to disapprove and ban the Worldcoin project from operating there.

$WLD $TON $DOGS