Sam Altman’s identity-focused crypto project Worldcoin (WLD) is taking legal action against the government of Spain after it was banned in the European nation.
Earlier this week, the Spanish Data Collection Agency (AEPD) ordered Worldcoin to stop collecting information after receiving numerous customer complaints that its data-gathering process was infringing upon users.
Furthermore, the AEPD said that the protocol must discard all data it has already collected via its artificial intelligence (AI)-driven eye-scanning peripheral.
However, in a recent blog post, Worldcoin says that it will be taking legal action against Spain as it is in compliance with all laws.
“Worldcoin operates lawfully in all of the locations in which it is available and under close supervision of the Bavarian data protection authority (BayLDA) – the regulatory body responsible for the oversight of its GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) compliance in the whole EU (European Union).
In accordance with the EU regulations pertaining to GDPR enforcement, Worldcoin contributors have regularly responded to BayLDA requests for months while operating lawfully in Spain and select other countries in Europe. This engagement continues to this day…
This circumvention of the accepted EU process and rules is why project contributor Tools for Humanity announced that a suit had been filed against the order from the AEPD.”
As stated by Jannick Preiwisch, data protection officer at the Worldcoin Foundation,
“It is unfortunate that the Spanish data protection authority (AEPD) is circumventing established procedures under GDPR with their actions today, which are limited to Spain and not the broader EU.
It is also unfortunate that they are spreading inaccurate and misleading claims about our technology globally after our efforts to provide them with an accurate view of Worldcoin and World ID have gone unanswered for months.”
Worldcoin is trading for $7.46 at time of writing, a 5.6% gain during the last 24 hours.
Don't Miss a Beat – Subscribe to get email alerts delivered directly to your inboxGenerated Image: Midjourney