Brazil prohibits Worldcoin from exchanging cryptocurrency rewards for iris scan data

According to Cointelegraph, Brazil's National Data Protection Agency (ANPD) ordered Tools for Humanity (TFH), the company behind Worldcoin, on January 24th to stop providing cryptocurrency or other economic compensation to Brazilian users for collecting iris biometric data. The ban will take effect from January 25th. ANPD pointed out after investigation that using cryptocurrency as a reward may affect users' voluntary consent to sensitive biological data, especially potentially leading to improper inducement for vulnerable populations. Brazilian law stipulates that consent to the processing of sensitive personal data must be free, informed, and clear. ANPD also expressed concerns about the risk of collecting irreversible iris data. Worldcoin was co founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in 2019 with the aim of creating a globally universal digital identity and financial network through iris scanning. But the project has also been subject to regulatory intervention in Germany due to data privacy issues.