The Worldcoin Foundation recently expanded into the European Union by introducing its ID verification system in Austria.Â
In an ongoing attempt to offer services throughout Europe, the Worldcoin Foundation is extending its World ID “orb” verifications to Austria.
As stated in a July 31 release, anyone 18 years of age or older can now purchase Worldcoin’s orbs at several venues throughout Vienna.
The foundation implies that its expansion to Austria indicates “continued interest and growth in other countries around the world” by noting that it already provides ID verification services, sometimes known as “proof of personhood,” in Germany.
The “orb,” a gadget used by Worldcoin to scan people’s irises, creates a unique biometric identity that verifies that each participant is an individual human. This is how the proof of personhood mechanism works.
A limited quantity of Wordlcoin, the native token of Worldcoin, is given to participants in exchange for having their iris scans, with the distribution of tokens intended to be equitable.Â
Despite its efforts to expand internationally, Worldcoin has encountered opposition in several locations because of worries about data privacy.
Hong Kong’s Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data declared in late May that Worldcoin violated the city’s personal data ordinance, raising privacy concerns about the project’s handling of biometric data.
The initiative expressed dissatisfaction in a statement and claimed that it runs legally and complies with all applicable data privacy rules. In a similar vein, Portugal and Spain restricted Worldcoin in March as a result of mounting privacy concerns.
Sam Altman of OpenAI, Max Novendstern, and Alex Blania established Worldcoin in 2019. In May 2023, the company raised $115 million in a Series C fundraising round. Blockchain Capital led the round, with participation from Distributed Global, Bain Capital Crypto, and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).
