Worldcoin insists it does not scan minors' eyeballs after Portugal pulls the plug

Worldcoin, the iris scanning startup created to demonstrate people's humanity in a world overrun by artificial intelligence, has just been banned in another nation.

And Worldcoin maintains it didn't see the action coming.

On Monday, Portugal temporarily banned the Worldcoin Foundation from collecting biometric data after saying it had received complaints that underage volunteers had been scanned.

Dozens of complaints

Portugal's data regulator, the CNPD, said it received dozens of complaints last month alleging the collection of data from minors without their parents' authorization and "the impossibility of deleting data or revoking consent."

The regulator ordered Worldcoin to stop collecting biometric data for 90 days while it investigates the complaints.

Worldcoin responded that officials did not warn it about these complaints.

“The CNPD report is the first we have heard from them on many of these issues, including reports of registrations of minors in Portugal,” Jannick Preiwisch, data protection officer at the Worldcoin Foundation, said in an email.

Preiwisch said Worldcoin follows a zero-tolerance policy for minor registrations and is working to address "all cases" where this may have happened.

The Worldcoin website states that “World ID verification” is open to anyone over 18 years of age.

But it also notes that people “should never be asked for their personal information (name, email, phone number, etc.) when checking out.”

Earlier this month, Spain also banned Worldcoin from operating in the country for up to three months, citing privacy concerns.

Authorities in Germany, the United Kingdom and France are also investigating the company.

Global identification