Worldcoin (WLD) will take legal action against the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) for the suspension of World ID. Worldcoin accused Spain of not wanting to collaborate with Worldcoin and World ID for months and unilaterally dealing with the EU with its decision. WLD reached an all-time high (ATH) of $11.76 on March 9, and subsequently plummeted to $9.39.
Sam Altman’s side project, Worldcoin (WLD), announced that it will take legal action against the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD), whom it accused of spreading “inaccurate and misleading claims about Worldcoin. He accused that his World ID services (iris scanning) are stopped in Spain.
The OpenAI co-founder’s cryptocurrency project accused Spain of not wanting to collaborate with Worldcoin and World ID for months and of avoiding European Union (EU) GDPR compliance oversight. Furthermore, they presumed that they have always been under supervision of the Bavarian data protection authority (BayLDA).
Worldcoin Accuses Spain of Ceasing World ID Operations Without EU Permission
The Worldcoin Foundation pointed out that Tools for Humanity was the one who filed the lawsuit against the AEPD of Spain, for its “misleading statement” about WLD technology worldwide. It clarified that its World App wallet continues to be available in Spain.
Worldcoin accused Spain of evading the regulatory process of the standards accepted by the EU, that is, that it acted unilaterally. He reiterated that World ID is a “secure identity” protocol, allowing 1,171,060 people to use the online service.
Prior to Worldcoin’s response, its WLD token reached all-time highs (ATH) of $11.76 on March 9, and subsequently plummeted to $9.39, with a loss of more than 8% in the last 24 hours. WLD’s market capitalization also plummeted, going from $1.75 trillion to $1.37 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.
In this regard, Jannick Preiwisch, Data Protection Officer at the Worldcoin Foundation, stated the following:
“For several months, we have been engaged with BayLDA, which is the supervisory authority under the GDPR for the Worldcoin Foundation and Tools for Humanity. “It is regrettable that the Spanish data protection authority (AEPD) is spreading inaccurate and misleading claims about our technology globally after our efforts to provide them with an accurate view of Worldcoin and World ID have gone unanswered.”
Spain Seems Determined to Expel Worldcoin from the Country
On March 6, the AEPD issued a directive demanding the immediate cessation of personal data collection by Worldcoin within the nation. This fact was a severe setback for the initiative, which sought to distribute tokens to individuals simply because of their uniqueness.
The AEPD’s “precautionary measure” came amid growing concerns about privacy risks associated with Worldcoin’s method of verifying identities through iris scans.
For its part, Tools for Humanity, operator of World ID, emphasized the following:
“Although Tools for Humanity does not collect any other personal data such as name, date of birth and address during the iris scan, the WorldID concept generated great distrust from politicians and authorities. German banking regulator Bafin is also investigating the project.”
In the early hours of March 10, WLD posted a new 12-hour all-time high, followed by a rally of over 40% in just 24 hours, culminating in a new all-time high of $11.74. Experts believe that this momentary rally was due to the reinstatement of Sam Altman to the OpenAI board of directors.
By Leonardo Perez
