SIC of Colombia to Investigate Worldcoin Over Privacy Concerns

By Vera Abogados

The Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC) of Colombia started prelimintary investigations with the arrival of Worldcoin in the country.

“This company is under investigation and its activities have been banned in several jurisdictions,” the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce stated in a press release.

The SIC is responsable of overseeing the protection of personal data throughout Colombia, enforcing regulations related to the handling, processing, and protection of personal data under Colombia's data protection laws, particularly Law 1581 of 2012, which establishes the general framework for data protection.

Worldcoin is a cryptocurrency project founded by Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI. Its primary goal is to create a global digital identity that can be used to distinguish humans from AI. To achieve this, Worldcoin uses orbs that scan people's irises to create a unique biometric identifier.

The project has faced backlash due to concerns about data privacy. The collection of biometric data, such as iris scans, is highly sensitive and there are concerns about the potential misuse of this data, including identity theft, surveillance, or even manipulation.

Questions have also been raised about how Worldcoin stores and protects this sensitive data.

The SIC invited Colombian citizens “to diligently inform themselves about the potential consequences of granting access of their irises” to Worldcoin, “as the company has not yet scientifically or technically demonstrated in other jurisdictions or in Colombia that this practice does not involve the collection of sensitive personal data.”