Partner Richard Cannon comments on data protection concerns surrounding Worldcoin in The Independent

Partner Richard Cannon discusses controversial cryptocurrency service Worldcoin, and argues that its biometric authentication technology is a serious concern for data-protection and crypto regulatory bodies.

Richard’s comments were published in The Independent, 3 August 2023, and can be found here.

“The launch of Worldcoin is a serious concern for data-protection and crypto regulatory bodies, and demonstrates the urgent need for cross sector and cross border regulation.

“Worldcoin claims that once its systems are optimised it will anonymise and destroy users’ biometric data, but are yet to provide clarity regarding when this will happen, and have given no indication as to how the data is safely and securely stored.

“There are elements of this product which have the appearance of a gimmick and the fact that users’ biometric information is tied to a coin should be a clear red flag to regulators.

“There is also a financial regulatory aspect to this debate, with the Worldcoin token being issued to early users but prohibited in the US because of ‘regulatory concerns’.”