The UK’s data regulator announced on Tuesday that it will investigate Worldcoin, a project led by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in which users offer iris scans in return for digital identification and free bitcoin.
“We note the launch of WorldCoin in the UK and will be making further enquiries,” said a spokeswoman for the Information Commissioner’s Office, according to Reuters.
Worldcoin began on Monday with two million users from its trial, and the crypto project is expanding eyeball-scanning operations in 20 nations, including in London.
The Worldcoin initiative, described as a “new identity and financial network” on its website, assigns those who sign up a digital ID that it claims would identify humans from artificial intelligence online.
