Thailand Forces Worldcoin Data Purge in Major Privacy Blow
Worldcoin just hit a regulatory wall in Southeast Asia—and it's forcing them to delete everything.
The Data Destruction Mandate
Thai authorities aren't asking—they're demanding immediate deletion of all collected biometric information. No compromises, no extensions. The clock started ticking the moment the order landed.
Global Scrutiny Intensifies
This isn't an isolated incident. Regulators worldwide are circling privacy-focused crypto projects like sharks. Thailand's move signals broader regulatory tightening across emerging markets.
The Compliance Countdown
Worldcoin's team now races against bureaucratic deadlines while maintaining their global rollout ambitions. One misstep could trigger domino-effect regulations elsewhere.
Another day, another crypto project learning the hard way that collecting eyeball scans might attract some regulatory attention—who could have predicted that?
Thai SEC Targets Worldcoin Over Unlicensed Operations
In its initial statement, Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleged that World had been running a digital asset business without the required license. Worldcoin is an ambitious initiative combining biometric identity verification, blockchain-based digital IDs, and the WLD cryptocurrency.
More than 17 million users worldwide have submitted to iris scans to join the project, a practice that has drawn increasing scrutiny across global jurisdictions. Thailand, which hosts 102 Worldcoin retina-scanning stations, conducted its raid in an effort to prevent potential scams and curb money-laundering risks.
Regulators Demand Deletion of Local Biometric Data
According to reporting from DLNews, authorities concluded that exchanging biometric data for digital assets violates Thai law. As a result, World must delete all biometric information collected in the country, affecting roughly 1.2 million people.
A spokesperson for Tools for Humanity, the organization overseeing Worldcoin, confirmed that operations have been suspended in Thailand. Despite the halt, the spokesperson emphasized that the project had complied with all local laws and argued the decision harms users:
“This pause negatively impacts millions of Thais who adopted this technology to protect themselves from scams, identity theft, and AI-driven fraud they face daily.”
Local partners estimate that the mandated deletion could cost users around $31 million in lost value.
Global Wave of Regulatory Pushback
Worldcoin has faced repeated regulatory blocks around the world. In France, the project is under investigation by the CNIL data-protection authority. Other countries, including Colombia, Hong Kong, Brazil, Kenya, Germany, Indonesia, and Spain, have either restricted or outright banned the project.
Concerns vary from violations of personal-data protection laws to broader fears of mass-surveillance systems. China recently issued a warning about a potential global monitoring program widely interpreted as a reference to Worldcoin.
Committed to open-sourcing the tech underlying the real human network, World Foundation open-sources the hardware design and documentation for the next generation Orb. Transparency in hardware safeguards security and ensures accountability.https://t.co/9EvSBsGI8d pic.twitter.com/emR2Lr2HjR
— World (@worldcoin) October 7, 2025
Worldcoin Attempts to Ease Concerns
Worldcoin has tried to alleviate fears through public communications and transparency efforts. Recently, it open-sourced its iris-scanning hardware to the public domain. Still, skepticism remains high regarding the safety and necessity of biometric-based identity systems.
WLD, the project’s native token, is currently trading at approximately $0.62, up 0.30% over the past 24 hours. However, it remains far below its March 2024 peak of $11.82. With growing regulatory pressure, challenges for both the project and the token’s long-term value appear far from over.
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