From memes to biometrics: Reddit could soon require eye scans
World, the Sam Altman-owned iris scanning firm, is reportedly in talks with Reddit about introducing the eyeball-based World ID system on the social platform.
As reported by Semafor, sources familiar with the dealings say that World ID may be coming to Reddit soon. This ID, when verified using someone’s eyeballs, supposedly certifies them as a “unique human.”
World also goes by the name World Network and rebranded from Worldcoin last year. The tech firm recently inked partnerships with Tinder, Razor, and payments firm Visa and officially launched in the UK and US this year.
Before its UK launch, World previously caught the attention of the country’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in 2023, which announced an inquiry into the firm.
The ICO spokesperson has since told Protos that it has scrutinized World while “clearly setting out our expectations to ensure compliance.” They said World has made some changes since this engagement.
Read more: World Network is still 988 million sign-ups short of its 1 billion-user goal
However, they stressed that the company “must demonstrate at all times that personal information, including biometric data, is used in ways that comply with UK data protection law.”
If World doesn’t do this, the ICO said it will “consider further action.”
Last year, in Berlin, this system of World ID verification at their “Orb” stations reportedly led to a group of bad actors making $700,000 by paying homeless people and drug addicts for their World IDs and bagging the associated crypto rewards.
Protos has reached out to World and Reddit for comment.
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