Thai regulators have ordered World, the digital identity project formerly known as Worldcoin, to stop iris-based enrollment operations in the country and delete biometric records collected from more than a million people. The decision comes from Thailand’s Personal Data Protection Committee (PDPC), which claims that the project violated key provisions of the Personal Data Protection Act.
World’s model revolves around in-person iris scans at “orb” devices in exchange for a digital ID and token incentives. Thai authorities found that the initiative did not provide adequate transparency, failed to obtain valid consent for processing sensitive biometric data, and did not comply with requirements governing cross-border transfers and long-term storage. The PDPC’s order requires World to suspend biometric enrollment in Thailand, halt further processing of previously collected iris data, and delete those biometric records within a defined timeline.
Reports from local and crypto-focused media indicate that around 1.2 million Thai residents had their irises scanned before regulators stepped in. The case adds Thailand to a growing list of jurisdictions that have either suspended or sharply limited World’s activities on privacy and data-protection grounds.
The Thai decision reinforces the idea that “experimental” or crypto-linked identity schemes will still be treated as high-risk processing when they involve large-scale collection of biometric data. Even when participation is nominally voluntary, regulators are signaling that projects must meet the same standards for informed consent, purpose limitation, and safeguards as more traditional identity systems.
The regulatory action in Thailand adds to mounting global scrutiny of World’s operations. Germany ordered World to delete biometric data over GDPR violations in December of last year, while the Philippines banned the project in October 2025. World has also faced challenges in Brazil earlier this year.
Sources: TradingView/Cointelegraph, AltcoinBuzz, DL News
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By Ali Nassar-Smith
