Thai Authorities Conduct Raid on World's Iris Scanning Facility Amid Legal Concerns for Sam Altman's Venture
Regulatory issues arise for Sam Altman's digital identity platform as Thai authorities conduct a raid on an iris scanning site linked to the project.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s digital identity initiative, formerly referred to as Worldcoin, is currently grappling with significant challenges in Thailand. This follows a raid conducted by local authorities on an iris scanning site associated with the platform.
The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) executed a coordinated operation with the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) to search for operations connected to “WLD exchange services,” as reported in their announcement on Friday.
The WLD token, known as the native cryptocurrency of the project, is distributed to qualifying World ID users in exchange for verification through iris scanning at locations where the service is available.
According to the platform’s data, they operate 102 orb locations across Thailand.
Operating Without Authorization
The SEC and CCIB noted that the WLD exchange service provider could potentially be in violation of digital asset regulations by functioning without an appropriate license. The announcement indicated that investigators apprehended suspects related to these offenses, with additional enforcement actions anticipated.
The platform reiterated that it only provides WLD tokens in areas where local laws permit such operations, highlighting that eligibility is dependent on geographic location, age, and other conditions. Furthermore, the company disclaims responsibility for the availability of WLD on third-party platforms.
Related: Prediction markets hit new high as Polymarket enters Sam Altman’s World
Cointelegraph attempted to reach out to Tools of Humanity, the developers behind World, for insights regarding the recent raid but had not received a reply by the time of publication.
Since launching in July 2023, World has faced scrutiny from various regulators globally, including a recent investigation by Indonesia’s Digital Ministry over alleged operational discrepancies. Additionally, several other nations, such as Germany, Kenya, and Brazil, have expressed apprehensions regarding the preservation of biometric data for users of the World App.
