The French data protection agency, also called the Commission Nationale Informatique & Libertés (CNIL), is reportedly questioning the legality of data collection methods conducted by Worldcoin, according to a Reuters report.
In an email to Reuters on July 28, CNIL said:
“The legality of this collection seems questionable, as do the conditions for storing biometric data.”
CNIL also stated in the email to Reuters that it had initiated investigations and has been supporting the efforts of the Bavarian state authority in Germany with its investigation into the subject matter.
OpenAI, the company behind the popular artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot ChatGPT, launched Worldcoin on June 24. The initative requires users to provide a scan of their iris in exchange for a digital ID and free cryptocurrency.
According to the company’s website, 2.1 million people have already signed up with the project, though mostly during the trial period throughout the course of the last two years.
The company claimed in a post on X that since its official launch, “a unique human is now verifying their World ID every 7.6 seconds & new records are being set daily.”
Since Worldcoin launched, proof of personhood demand has surged. On average, a unique human is now verifying their World ID every 7.6 seconds & new records are being set daily.
Thank you for your patience with the project as more work is done to better meet worldwide demand. pic.twitter.com/gPmr0oQWCR
Worldcoin has posted photos on X of its orbs in various cities across the world since its launch on Monday, including Seoul, South Korea, Mexico City, Mexico and Paris, France.
Despite all the hype, Worldcoin has received mixed reactions from the crypto community. Some users pointed out the potential failures due to its centralization, while others say proof-of-personhood is necessary with the increasing presence of AI.
Additional reports have surfaced claiming that after its launch Worldcoin has struggled to recruit new sign-ups, with the three designated locations in Hong Kong only seeing around 200 sign-ups on the first day, and a total of 600 overall.
However, the next day Sam Altman, the company’s co-founder, rebutted the claims by posting a video on X of a long queue of people in Japan waiting to complete iris scans.
After days of furore directed at Rishi Sunak for the election betting scandal, now a Labour candidate is under investigation by the Gambling Commission for his own betting activity – and is immediately suspended.
Is this an equaliser in one of the grubbiest electoral sagas of recent elections? Quite possibly not.
There is no doubting the utter dismay in Labour HQ at the revelation that they too have a candidate caught up in the betting scandal.
However, if this scenario is as presented, it is hard to see an allegation being mounted that he had insider intelligence on the race – unless it can be proved he was deliberately setting out to lose.
An under-pressure Gambling Commission will investigate every candidate’s name on the spreadsheet from gambling companies of those who placed bets – but it is unclear from available facts where this will go.
The Tory betting saga, however, is more complicated and now on its 13th day.
It was almost two weeks ago that Craig Williams – Rishi Sunak’s closest parliamentary aide and former Montgomeryshire MP – admitted he had placed a bet on the election date – a date he might have known before the public at large.
He denies he committed any offence, and remains under investigation.
Laura Saunders, standing for the Tories just south in Bristol North West, has also been suspended for putting a bet on the date when her partner worked in Conservative headquarters on the election.
For most of that time, Mr Sunak has been insisting he could not suspend either candidate because of the ongoing probe by the Gambling Commission.
Ministers, as well as opponents, weighed in.
And on Tuesday he reversed that decision under that pressure.
This means there are questions about the prime minister’s own judgement and unwillingness to act on top of questions about the behaviour of those closest to him.
Image: Craig Williams and Laura Saunders have both been suspended from the Tories. Pics: PA/Laura Saunders for Bristol North West
This story has had massive cut through with the public, topping the charts for any news story in the UK – according to YouGov’s AI news tracker – for the last four days.
There is dismay from the cabinet downwards.
Labour’s own problems have undermined their own ability to go on the attack. But it is not clear that voters will see the two issues on the same scale.
The full list of the candidates running for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich is:
Charlie Caiger, independent; Tony Gould, Reform UK; Mike Hallatt, independent; Brett Alistair Mickelburgh, Lib Dems; Dan Pratt, Greens; Patrick Spencer, Conservatives.
The full list of candidates for Bristol North West is:
Caroline Gooch, Lib Dems; Darren Jones, Labour; Scarlett O’Connor, Reform UK; Mary Page, Green Party; Ben Smith, SDP.
The full list of candidates for Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr is:
Jeremy Brignell-Thorp, Green Party; Oliver Lewis, Reform UK; Glyn Preston, Lib Dems; Elwyn Vaughan, Plaid Cymru; Steve Witherden, Labour.