ChatGPT founder Sam Altman’s Worldcoin under investigation by French authorities
- France’s CNIL stated that Worldcoin and its biometric data collection “seems questionable”.
- The French watchdog revealed to Reuters that it had initiated an investigation along with the Bavarian state authority.
- Worldcoin has already received over 2.1 million in the last two years in trial, with investors submitting their iris scans in exchange for digital IDs.
Worldcoin has been making headlines across the crypto community for two reasons. The first is its origin which is credited to Sam Altman, the creator of ChatGPT. The second is its novel approach to creating a digital identity. The latter of the two, however, seems to be of grave concern to authorities to the point where it is now under the purview of authorities.
Worldcoin is being invested by the French
Worldcoin was in equal parts awaited and just as equally a surprising launch. The cryptocurrency came with a new approach to creating digital identities by using iris scans of token holders. While this may seem and sound like the future, the idea of one team holding the eyeball data of millions of people is not sitting well with the authorities.
According to a report from Reuters, France’s privacy regulatory body National Commission on Informatics and Liberty (CNIL), is reportedly investigating the cryptocurrency. The watchdog stated in response to a Reuters email,
“The legality of this collection seems questionable, as do the conditions for storing biometric data.
The agency further stated that it had already initiated an investigation, which is being conducted under the command of the Bavarian authority. However, the Worldcoin Foundation is of the opinion that the organization is conducting its processes in line with the rules and regulations.
The Cayman Island-based organization stated,
“The Worldcoin Foundation complies with all laws and regulations governing the processing of personal data in the markets where Worldcoin is available...The project will continue to cooperate with governing bodies on requests for more information about its privacy and data protection practices.
Since the altcoin’s launch this week, Worldcoin (WLD) has managed to rake up more than 2.1 million sign-ups over the past two years through a trial. In many countries, in addition to creating a digital ID, users are also receiving free cryptocurrency in exchange for the biometric data collected.
Trading at $2.194, the altcoin has managed to surprise investors without dumping soon after its launch. However, the hype of the cryptocurrency is only expected to last for a while longer since, beyond the novel technical approach, the altcoin offers nothing new to either investors or developers.
WLD/USDT 4-hour chart
The ChatGPT founder affiliation might keep it going and attract more users over the next week, but the network growth (the rate at which new addresses are formed) will eventually slump.
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Author
Aaryamann Shrivastava
FXStreet
Aaryamann Shrivastava is a Cryptocurrency journalist and market analyst with over 1,000 articles under his name. Graduated with an Honours in Journalism, he has been part of the crypto industry for more than a year now.
