Brazil's data protection watchdog ANPD has ordered Tools for Humanity, a tech company co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, to stop compensating people for iris scans in the country. The ban takes effect from Saturday and includes payments made in cryptocurrency.
The company, through its World project, has been collecting iris scans from people worldwide in exchange for cryptocurrency and digital IDs, aiming to create a global identity system. However, Brazilian authorities are concerned that financial incentives could compromise individuals' free will in deciding whether to share their biometric data.
The preventive measure comes as part of an ongoing investigation that began in November. The ANPD has also mandated Tools for Humanity to clearly identify the parties responsible for processing personal data on its website.
This isn't the first regulatory challenge for the company, which has faced similar data collection issues with authorities in Spain and Portugal.
World's Brazilian office defended its practices, stating that their service adheres to all local laws and regulations. The company claims recent reports and social media activity have led to misleading information being presented to ANPD, though they didn't provide specific details about these inaccuracies.
The company expressed its intention to work with ANPD to enable Brazilian citizens to participate in the World network, indicating a willingness to address regulatory concerns while maintaining its presence in the country.
This regulatory action represents another hurdle in Tools for Humanity's ambitious project to build a global identity system based on biometric data.