Thailand Orders Sam Altman’s World Project to Delete 1.2 Million Iris Scans and Halt Operations
Regulators rule that exchanging biometric data for cryptocurrency violates national data-protection law, prompting sweeping shutdown measures
Thai authorities have ordered World, the iris-scanning digital-identity project co-founded by Sam Altman, to erase more than 1.2 million biometric records collected in the country and suspend all local activity.
The ruling, issued by the Personal Data Protection Committee, follows an expert panel’s conclusion that exchanging sensitive biometric information for cryptocurrency breached Thailand’s data-protection law.
Officials emphasised that the decision was based on the need to safeguard citizens and uphold national standards for responsible data use.
According to the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, regulators determined that the project’s model — which grants participants WLD tokens in return for iris scans — failed to meet statutory requirements for the handling of sensitive personal data.
World’s operators have paused activity nationwide, with the company saying it had fully cooperated with regulators throughout the process.
A spokesperson for Tools for Humanity, the project’s developer, argued that the suspension would disadvantage Thai users who rely on the technology to protect themselves from fraud and identity theft, but affirmed that operations would remain paused as ordered.
The enforcement move comes weeks after a raid on a separate, unlicensed crypto-exchange operation linked by authorities to individuals believed to be trading WLD tokens without approval.
Those arrested are not affiliated with World itself, but the incident intensified scrutiny of crypto-related activity inside Thailand.
An executive from M Vision, a local partner responsible for installing iris-scanning booths, is contesting the deletion order, arguing its implementation would impose around thirty-one million dollars in combined user losses.
Local exchanges including Binance, Bitkub and Orbix have issued public advisories urging caution when trading or holding WLD tokens, citing the heightened regulatory risk.
The token, once buoyed by excitement over biometric identity solutions, is trading at a fraction of its previous peak.
Officials say the case underscores Thailand’s commitment to strong digital-governance standards and to ensuring that new technologies operate within clear legal and ethical boundaries.
With the deletion order in effect, the future of World’s presence in the country now depends on whether the project can redesign its model to meet Thailand’s stringent data-protection requirements.
The ruling, issued by the Personal Data Protection Committee, follows an expert panel’s conclusion that exchanging sensitive biometric information for cryptocurrency breached Thailand’s data-protection law.
Officials emphasised that the decision was based on the need to safeguard citizens and uphold national standards for responsible data use.
According to the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, regulators determined that the project’s model — which grants participants WLD tokens in return for iris scans — failed to meet statutory requirements for the handling of sensitive personal data.
World’s operators have paused activity nationwide, with the company saying it had fully cooperated with regulators throughout the process.
A spokesperson for Tools for Humanity, the project’s developer, argued that the suspension would disadvantage Thai users who rely on the technology to protect themselves from fraud and identity theft, but affirmed that operations would remain paused as ordered.
The enforcement move comes weeks after a raid on a separate, unlicensed crypto-exchange operation linked by authorities to individuals believed to be trading WLD tokens without approval.
Those arrested are not affiliated with World itself, but the incident intensified scrutiny of crypto-related activity inside Thailand.
An executive from M Vision, a local partner responsible for installing iris-scanning booths, is contesting the deletion order, arguing its implementation would impose around thirty-one million dollars in combined user losses.
Local exchanges including Binance, Bitkub and Orbix have issued public advisories urging caution when trading or holding WLD tokens, citing the heightened regulatory risk.
The token, once buoyed by excitement over biometric identity solutions, is trading at a fraction of its previous peak.
Officials say the case underscores Thailand’s commitment to strong digital-governance standards and to ensuring that new technologies operate within clear legal and ethical boundaries.
With the deletion order in effect, the future of World’s presence in the country now depends on whether the project can redesign its model to meet Thailand’s stringent data-protection requirements.
