Thailand halts World plan, orders the deletion of 1.2 million iris data by deadline.

The digital identification project World (, supported by Sam Altman, previously known as Worldcoin), has sparked regulatory controversy in Thailand. The Thai authorities have officially requested World to cease operations and delete all iris scan data of Thai users recently, citing issues related to personal data laws and the improper nature of token exchange activities, further raising concerns about its global compliance issues.

The Thai authorities have ordered World to delete the iris data.

The National Economic and Social Development Board of Thailand ( NESDB ) has formally requested that World completely cease operations locally and delete approximately 1.2 million iris scan records of Thai users through the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society ( MDES ).

The authorities pointed out that World has violated Thailand's Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) by using the model of “exchanging iris scans for WLD tokens,” which raises significant issues regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of personal data. In fact, as early as October, Thai law enforcement had raided a certain iris scanning site, and there were already reports at that time suggesting that World was suspected of violating regulations related to digital assets, laying the groundwork for this ban.

The company claims it is wronged and does not acknowledge any violations. It has stopped verification but continues to communicate with the government.

World Thailand ( represented by TIDC Worldverse stated on Twitter )X( that it has stopped all local identification services and removed Thailand from the global Orb scanning location list. However, the company emphasized that its operations are conducted in accordance with Thai regulations and has transparently provided information to regulatory authorities during the process, thus does not agree with the official illegal allegations.

World also pointed out that this order has instead caused millions of Thai users to lose digital identity tools used for fraud prevention, avoiding identification theft, and resisting AI deepfake attacks. The company stated that it will continue to communicate with MDES and the Thai Personal Data Protection Commission )PDPC( in order to clarify doubts and find a feasible direction.

Currently, foreign media have inquired with the development team Tools of Humanity about the situation of the raid investigation, but no response has been received.

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Global regulatory concerns are rising, with increasing investigation pressures in multiple countries.

Since its launch in 2023 under the name “Worldcoin”, the iris scanning model of World has faced regulatory challenges in multiple countries. The Indonesian government initiated an investigation in May, indicating that local operators may not have completed the necessary applications, and World subsequently suspended local verification.

Germany, Kenya, and Brazil have also expressed concerns about the security of biometric data. In response to external doubts, World has repeatedly emphasized that its data processing method is not a centralized architecture, and iris images will not be stored in the Orb device, but instead converted into an anonymized iris code.

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This article reports that Thailand has halted the World project, ordering the deletion of 1.2 million iris data within a deadline, first appearing in Chain News ABMedia.