Business · Rest of World
U.S. companies back Sam Altman’s World ID even as much of the world pushes back
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A Sam Altman-backed technology that many governments rejected is finding traction in the American corporate world.
Key facts
- March 2025: Brazil reaffirms the ban on World, exposing the company to a daily fine of 50,000 reais ($8,800) if it resumes data collection
- July 2023: Tools for Humanity launches World ID, with plans to install iris-scanning orbs in more than 35 cities across 20 countries
- In April 2025, the company had set up with 7,000 orbs across six cities in the U.S. Many of these continue to operate as legal safeguards about biometric data collection, and cryptocurrencies
- October 2025: The Philippines’ National Privacy Commission orders Tools For Humanity to immediately halt operations over issues of consent and exploitation of vulnerable populations
Summary
On April 17, World, a project designed to distinguish humans from bots using biometrics, announced strategic partnerships with Tinder, Zoom, and Docusign. The World project was launched by Tools for Humanity, a startup co-founded by Altman. In 2023, World installed several Orbs — physical, spherical biometric imaging devices that scan a person’s iris — in various cities across the globe. In the last three years, several governments in Asia and Africa have halted World’s operations due to concerns about the collection of biometric information from their citizens and the violation of privacy laws.