Thailand’s SEC raids World’s iris scanning site over unlicensed WLD token operations, raising legal concerns for Sam Altman’s digital identity project.
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World, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s digital identity project, formerly known as Worldcoin, is facing new issues in Thailand, with local authorities raiding an iris scanning location allegedly operated by the platform.
Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) conducted a joint operation with the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) to raid an iris scanning location related to “WLD exchange services,” the SEC Friday.
World’s WLD () token is the project’s native cryptocurrency, distributed to eligible World ID users in exchange for verification through iris scanning at World’s orb locations.
to data from World, the platform operates 102 orb locations in Thailand.
The SEC and CCIB said they found that the WLD exchange service provider potentially breached local digital asset laws by operating without a license.
“The investigator has arrested suspects for committing the offense, subject to further relevant law enforcement proceedings,” the announcement noted.
to World, the platform only distributes WLD tokens in exchange for verification in jurisdictions “where laws allow.”
“Eligibility for WLD tokens is restricted based on geography, age, and other factors,” World states on its website, adding that the company is not responsible for the availability of WLD on third-party platforms, including centralized or decentralized exchanges.
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Cointelegraph approached World’s developer, Tools of Humanity, for comment regarding the raid, but had not received a response by publication.
Since its , World has encountered multiple issues with other regulators around the world.
In May, Indonesia’s Digital Ministry said it was , alleging suspicious activity and registration violations. The platform subsequently paused its verification services voluntarily while seeking clarification on the terms of relevant licenses and permits.
Other governments like Germany, Kenya and Brazil had also previously to the security of World App users’ biometric data.
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