The Worldcoin Foundation has unveiled the rollout of World ID orb verifications in Austria, expanding its presence in Europe.
The initiative aims to enhance accessibility to its groundbreaking “proof of humanness” technology within the region, the firm said in a Wednesday blog post.
The implementation of eyeball-scanning orbs across various locations in Vienna, Austria’s capital, allows individuals over the age of 18 to engage with the Worldcoin network by verifying their unique World ID.
Worldcoin Expands Operations in Europe
Austria’s integration into Worldcoin’s orb network follows in the footsteps of neighboring Germany, marking a significant expansion of the project’s operational footprint in the European landscape.
World ID verifications are now live in Austria 🇦🇹https://t.co/kIFOqLugBH
— Worldcoin (@worldcoin) July 31, 2024
However, Worldcoin has encountered regulatory hurdles across the continent, with Spain recently prolonging its ban on Worldcoin until the completion of a GDPR audit.
Similarly, Portugal mandated a temporary suspension of biometric data collection by the project earlier this year, reflecting broader concerns regarding data privacy and protection.
In response to these challenges, the Worldcoin Foundation emphasized the positive reception of its technology among users in Spain and Portugal.
“In a 2024 survey in Spain, 82% of the 21,000 World ID holders who responded agreed that technologies such as Worldcoin/World ID are important for distinguishing between humans and bots online (13% were unsure),” the Worldcoin Foundation said.
“Similarly, in Portugal, more than 3 in 4 (77%) of the 19,000 World ID holders who responded agree that Worldcoin can have a positive impact on their digital interactions (13% were unsure).”
Worldcoin Takes Measures to Address Privacy Concerns
Worldcoin has taken proactive steps to address data privacy concerns.
Through initiatives like “Personal Custody,” the project has reinforced its commitment to safeguarding users’ biometric data, allowing individuals greater control over the storage and deletion of sensitive information.
Looking ahead, Worldcoin’s upcoming Layer 2 network, World Chain, is poised to usher in a new era of scalability and efficiency for the project.
With a developer preview already released, World Chain empowers developers to test and provide feedback on the network before its anticipated mainnet launch later this summer.
The network’s architecture, based on Ethereum within the Superchain framework, is designed to be permissionless, open source, and community-governed.
Developed and championed primarily by Tools for Humanity, a contributor co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, the Worldcoin project operates on the premise of securing the internet’s future by discerning between human and non-human entities.
By undergoing an iris scan to validate their humanity, individuals are rewarded with WLD tokens linked to their World IDs.
Just recently, Worldcoin partnered with the web3 infrastructure platform Alchemy on June 26.
The collaboration will equip Worldcoin developers with Alchemy’s suite of tools and infrastructure to build the new World Chain blockchain.
World Chain will prioritize human verification, digital identity, and decentralized applications while adhering to privacy and security standards.
