The Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) recently issued a significant directive to halt Tools for Humanity Corporation from collecting and processing personal data in Spain, related to its Worldcoin project.
This action is a response to various complaints highlighting concerns over insufficient information sharing, data collection from minors, and issues around consent withdrawal, among other violations.
Worldcoin, an initiative by Tools for Humanity Corporation, has attracted attention for its management of personal data on Spanish soil.
The AEPD’s involvement highlights the serious concerns around biometric data processing, which is considered sensitive under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The AEPD points out the considerable risks that biometric data processing poses to personal rights, leading to a preventive measure to stop Tools for Humanity Corporation from further data collection and processing, and to secure the data already gathered.
The company, based in Germany but operating within Europe, is now facing potential GDPR-related legal actions.
These actions enable regulatory bodies like the AEPD to impose provisional measures to protect individual rights and freedoms in exceptional circumstances.
This step underscores the AEPD’s commitment to averting possible irreparable damages to privacy rights, aiming to maintain the fundamental right to personal data protection under the GDPR framework.
This move comes as a significant obstacle for Worldcoin, led by Sam Altman, marking another privacy-related hurdle for the project.
The AEPD’s directive to cease personal data collection activities in Spain aims to preserve privacy rights and is a temporary measure, set to last no longer than three months, highlighting the need for prompt remedial action by Tools for Humanity Corporation.
Non-compliance with these directives could lead to further legal implications for the company.