PANews reported on January 27 that according to Cointelegraph, the Brazilian National Data Protection Agency (ANPD) ordered Tools for Humanity (TFH), the company behind Worldcoin, on January 24 to stop providing Brazilian users with cryptocurrency or other financial compensation to collect iris biometric data. The ban will take effect from January 25.

After the investigation, the ANPD pointed out that using cryptocurrency as a reward could affect users' voluntary consent for sensitive biometric data, and could especially induce people in vulnerable situations. Brazilian law stipulates that consent to process sensitive personal data must be free, informed and clear. The ANPD also expressed concerns about the risks of collecting irreversible iris data.

Worldcoin was co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in 2019, aiming to create a global digital identity and financial network by scanning irises. However, the project has also been subject to regulatory intervention in Germany due to data privacy issues.