Worldcoin Enhances Security Features with De-Verification and In-Person Age Checks
Summary:
Worldcoin, a venture by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, introduces new features to enhance personal data security and refine age verification. The updates allow World ID holders to de-verify their IDs, which involves the permanent removal of their unique iris code, and enforce in-person age verification checks. The de-verification process includes a six-month cool-down period to prevent immediate re-verification. Meanwhile, prior disapprovals based on privacy and security are still issues, with Worldcoin collaborating with governments to meet regional regulations.
Worldcoin, a cryptocurrency and digital identity venture led by OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman, is introducing new features designed to enhance the security of personal data and refine age verification processes. On April 9, the company revealed two significant updates: the ability for users to de-verify their World IDs through permanent iris code removal and the implementation of in-person age verification checks.
World ID holders can now opt to de-verify their World ID, a digital validation system that utilizes "orbs" or devices to scan individual's eyes, confirming they are real humans. The de-verification of a World ID entails the permanent elimination of a user’s iris code, a numerical identifier representing the unique texture of their iris, which is used to verify one World ID per individual. Upon requesting this removal, the user's World ID will become invalid. To avoid fraudulent activity, a six-month cool-down period is enforced before de-verification to prevent quick re-verification.
Additionally, Worldcoin's new de-verification tool has been established with help from independent privacy and security professionals, including guidance from the Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision (BayLDA), which presides over Worldcoin's operations within the European Union.
Worldcoin's second measure, in-person age verification checks, aims to restrict the platform's use to individuals who are at least 18 years old. This newest iteration encompasses an age verification procedure taking place on-site at all orb locations prior to World ID verification.
“Worldcoin necessitates that users must be at least 18 years old to obtain a World ID,” a representative for Worldcoin informed Cointelegraph. Altman, who also established OpenAI — a leading firm in natural language processing technology with products like ChatGPT — initiated Worldcoin in July 2023 with the aspiration of rolling out a “global financial and identity network based purely on proof of personhood.” The project has garnered varied reactions, especially on concerns of decentralization, privacy, and security.
Some governmental authorities remain doubtful about Worldcoin’s security and privacy; Worldcoin's EU overseer, the BayLDA, initiated a Worldcoin probe due to privacy fears months ahead of its formal release. By the end of 2023, Worldcoin suspended the offline orb verification function for users in India with plans to revive it in later 2024. The Kenyan government banned Worldcoin in August 2023 by terminating all local operations linked to the platform, including biometric identification. Worldcoin has been actively collaborating with the Kenyan government to recover routines there. In March 2024, Worldcoin stated that it observes the law in every jurisdiction it functions in and strictly adheres to applicable regulations.
Published At
4/9/2024 4:00:00 PM
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