Portugal orders Sam Altman’s Worldcoin to halt data collection

Portugal’s data regulator has ordered Sam Altman’s iris-scanning project Worldcoin to stop collecting biometric data for 90 days, it said on Tuesday, in the latest regulatory blow to a venture that has raised privacy concerns in multiple countries.

Worldcoin encourages people to have their faces scanned by its “orb” devices, in exchange for a digital ID and free cryptocurrency. More than 4.5 million people in 120 countries have signed up, according to Worldcoin’s website.